The Jedi Vanishes
by SpiritMonkey
Summary: In which Asajj Ventress saves Ahsoka from the Republic. Story begins at the end of TCW's "To Catch a Jedi."
1. Deep Breaths

**A/N:**

 **Our story begins at the end of The Clone Wars episode To Catch A Jedi. If you haven't watched the show I highly recommend it, as it is fantastic, and this won't make any sense if you haven't seen it.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading. Please enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

 **Deep Breaths**

* * *

"I have to admit, I never saw us doing anything together. Ever."

The older woman was inclined to agree with the young Togruta.

"These are strange times." Rather, this had been a strange day. Even for a former Sith assassin, now bounty hunter, such as Asajj Ventress. It wasn't often you helped your former enemy escape her Jedi master, all while searching for nano-droids that turned living beings into bombs.

Ventress took a few steps back from her companion, then paused for a final glance at the girl. Ahsoka's footsteps made only the slightest tapping sounds on the metal floor as she disappeared into the dark doorway of the warehouse. The bounty hunter's trained eye could see how practiced the girl was in stealth. The Clone Wars had made the young Padawan grow up quickly.

And the girl was powerful. More powerful than she knew, Ventress wagered. She had no doubt that if the Padawan ever made it out of this ordeal she would become a very powerful Jedi. A very powerful Jedi who just might be her ally after today, Ventress thought with a smile.

She walked down the dingy street of the Coruscant underworld, making sure to reengage her mask before anyone saw her. All she could do now was wait and hope Ahsoka would be able to hold up her end of the bargain.

Or so she thought. The bounty hunter had made it no more than a block and a half before the reverberating clomp of running boots began to fill her ears. Acting on instinct, Ventress ducked into the shadows of a nearby alleyway. Soon the thunderous noise was upon the street Ventress had vacated.

One white blur passed by. Then another. Then two more.

Clones.

It was the same group they had disabled earlier, Ventress was sure of it. And it looked like they had called for backup. _Kriff_. This was bad. If the girl was caught in that warehouse…

Just as she was getting out of her hiding spot, another figure passed by. But this one was not a clone. The man had light orange, wrinkly skin and long brown cloak. Though Ventress could not have told anyone this. All she noticed was the man's extremely powerful Force presence, which was entirely focused on the warehouse in front of him.

A Jedi. Likely a Master, by the feel of him. _Double Kriff._ This was worse than she thought.

The former Sith assassin had a decision to make. She paused for a moment, letting the Jedi get a good head start on her. Gritting her teeth, Ventress came out of the alley and ran back to the warehouse. She slowed to a crawl as she approached the front door, doing her best to mask her Force presence so she would not be exposed prematurely. Leaning against the door, Ventress pressed her ear to the metal, listening for any warning signs.

A dark figure dashed across her view at the other end of the building. A scavenger or petty thief, most likely. They were all too common in these parts of Coruscant.

Slowly opening the door, Ventress thanked the Force that the hinges didn't creak. She slipped inside, once again embracing the cover of the shadows. The warehouse was large — no doubt a secret hold for some notorious underworld criminal. Who else would have the means, or the guts, to house explosive nano-droids on the Galactic capital planet?

Using as little of the Force as possible, Ventress hopped from one stack of boxes to another. She quickly caught the sight of clones, all heading in the same direction towards the back of the warehouse. She slinked along above them, hugging her body to the crates as tightly as she could.

The action was indeed at the back wall of the warehouse. Ahsoka was trapped against a wall of crates. It looked like she had lost her lightsaber, or one of the clones had managed to take it. Speaking of which, every possible exit for the Togruta girl was blocked off by one of those white clad soldiers. There looked to be half again as many of them as Ventress and Ahsoka had taken out earlier, not counting the Jedi. Getting the girl and escaping was going to be a challenge.

A loud gasp echoed up from the floor. The Jedi had made it to the front of his miniature army. Ahsoka looked either hopeful or horrified, Ventress couldn't tell which. Either way, it was clear the girl knew, or knew of, this Jedi Master.

"Nano-droids." The monotonic voice of one of the clones broke the pregnant silence. "And explosives. Same ones that were used to blow up the Temple, by the looks of it."

"M-Master Koon," Ahsoka whimpered, "Please, this isn't what it looks like. Please, Master, I can ex—"

"Ahsoka…" the Jedi interrupted. His rumbling voice was thick with emotion. Grief. Heartache. Yes, they definitely knew one another. "I am so sorry, young one. Arrest her, Commander Wolffe."

Well, this appeared to be Ventress' cue. The Jedi, Master Koon, was distracted, which was about as much as she could hope for. So the bounty hunter jumped.

With a thud, she landed on top of the Jedi. His head smacked onto the floor, knocking him out cold. Or at least she thought he was out cold. Ventress grimaced internally. No time to worry about that now.

Lightsabers out in a flash, it took all of her concentration to deflect the blaster bolts and dodge the stun blasts. Gradually she walked backwards, making her way to the Togruta girl lying by the crates. Unconscious by the looks of it. An errant stun blast, or blasts, must have hit her. Ventress got down on one knee to better allow her sabers to protect her and the girl from harm.

Now, all she needed was an escape plan. In retrospect, she probably should have planned that out before jumping into a group of men who wanted to kill her. But no time to dwell on the past. Ventress needed to focus on not dying.

Behind her, Ahsoka began to regain consciousness. A few groggy moans were all that indicated the girl wasn't still out like a light.

"Ahsoka! Force damn it, wake up girl!" Some slightly louder croaks and a light tap on her ankle were all she got in reply. "Ahsoka, I need you to wrap your arms around me and hold on tight. Hurry!" Ventress wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up her guard. Learning Makashi from Count Dooku had done wonders for her saber skills, but the style had its limits defensively.

Thin arms curled their way around the bounty hunter's neck. The girl's body collapsed heavily against Ventress. It was going to be a good while before Ahsoka was anywhere near full operation. Standing up slowly, Ventress used the Force to stabilize the girl's grip as best she could. It would have to do, because they needed to get out of the warehouse _now._

In a fluid motion, Ventress crouched then sprang into the air. Using the Force as her aid, she and the girl on her back landed back atop the pile of crates the bounty hunter had used as her original vantage point. A dozen identical voices began shouting from below her, and the blaster fire was redirected to follow the two women. Making sure Ahsoka was stable on her back, Ventress stowed her sabers and ran across the shelves of crates as quickly as she dared. Too slow and the clones would catch them, too fast and she would lose her balance and fall off. She swiped her hands behind her when she could, knocking crates down behind her to impede the clones' progress.

Sooner than she anticipated, Ventress found herself at a pair of doors. They looked identical to the ones she came in through, though she couldn't be sure. Taking a moment to catch her breath, the former assassin glanced at the girl on her back. Ahsoka's eyes were open now, but glazed over. She probably thought this was all a dream. If only.

The shouts were getting closer. It was time to go. Ventress barged through the doors, not caring for stealth this time. The street outside was unfamiliar — it must be a side exit. She chose a direction at random, and took off.

Well, as much as one can take off while hauling a body on their back.

Within seconds she heard heavy stomps behind her. Just a few this time, not the thunderous wave she had first heard. It appeared she was faster than most of the genetically engineered soldiers. Ventress had to smile at that.

Blaster fire rang in her ears again — all stun shots, this time. They must want Ahsoka alive. No good for the Republic to kill her in the dark when they could have a nice public execution to set an example for any other would-be traitors. Through some combination of skill and luck, Ventress managed to dodge the blasts. It might have been her imagination, but the shots seemed to be getting slightly quieter. She didn't dare take a look back.

One final blast rang out behind her. Ventress felt it land on her back with a thud. She stumbled, but didn't fall — was she out of range of their blasters already? Ventress risked a backwards glance. She was definitely gaining ground, but not enough to be out of range.

A montral smacking into the back of her head reminded Ventress of her passenger, who was once again out cold. _Kriff,_ Ahsoka must have absorbed that shot. The girl was not going to be waking up for a long time.

Ventress forced herself to run for another winding ten blocks before allowing herself to slow down. It appeared that her rescue plan had somehow, improbably — no, impossibly — worked. Setting down the Togruta for a moment, Ventress pulled a cloak out of her satchel and wrapped it around her companion. Now it just looked like one strange person carrying another, which was nowhere near enough to draw attention this low into Coruscant.

With a huff, Ventress set off into the dim streets once again. It seemed she was going to have a house guest.

* * *

 _Thump_.

 _Thump_.

 _Thump_. Ow.

Ahsoka groaned as her eyes flitted open. She didn't recognize where she was. _Thump._ Force, her head hurt. The image of a clone helmet, stylized with red paint, danced through her mind. She sank her head into the pillow underneath her, closing her eyes again to try and control the pain. _Thump._ A blue lightsaber flashed across her vision. What happened? Where was she?

The Padawan did her best to survey her surroundings. She was in a small, dark room. A bedroom of some sort. A door led out to a larger room that also appeared devoid of life. Any clues as to where she was were going to be in that room.

But before that, she had to sit up. As if doing a push up, Ahsoka heaved her body off the bed. _Thump. Thump. Thump._ She collapsed back down onto the bed with a grunt of pain.

More clones appeared in her brain. Dozens, now. It appeared her head had different goals than Ahsoka did.

Deep breath in, deep breath out. She had dealt with pain worse than this before. _Thump._ She just needed to move slowly.

Ahsoka gingerly slid her legs off the bed, making sure not to move her head. Right leg, then the left. She still had her boots on, Ahsoka realized. Steeling herself, the Padawan once again pushed her head up off the pillow ( _Thump)_ , doing her best to fight through the pain. _Thump._ This time the weight of her legs was enough to propel her up to a sitting position.

 _Thump_. She groaned again, placing her hands over her eyes as if she could drain the pain from her head. Clone after clone marched through her mind, taking their places in a line in front of her. Surrounding her. _Thump._ A green blade, her blade, flashed against blue. Ahsoka let out a trembling breath. She almost had it. What had happened to her? _Thump._ Another figure walked into her mind. But he was not a clone. Who —?

 _"I am so sorry, young one."_ The figure spoke in her mind.

"No!" Ahsoka yelled. "Master Koon! No, no, please…" Her voice dwindled away, morphing into a soft sob as her full memory came back to her.

Plo Koon had caught her. He had caught her, and he thought she was guilty. She saw it so clearly on his face, heard it in his voice. Master Koon, her _friend_ , thought she was guilty. And if he didn't believe her, who would?

 _Anakin_. Anakin would believe her. He wasn't like other Jedi. But even he had been helping to lead the search for her. Perhaps… did her master think she was guilty too? No, it wasn't possible. No! Anakin was on her side. Anakin believed her. He had to. She _needed_ him to.

And… the blue blade. A Jedi's blade. Ahsoka had been attacked in the warehouse, by a Jedi. Her fists tightened on her face. So there was a traitor in the Order's midst. It was the only explanation. A Jedi had bombed the Temple. A Jedi had turned an Abyssin into a bomb, and killed dozens of good people. This Jedi, whoever it was, deserved to _die_. If Ahsoka ever found them, she would tear them apart. She would —

Deep breath in, deep breath out. It would do no good for her to dwell on this. Ahsoka could not let her emotions take control of her. With another shuddering breath, she removed her hands from her eyes. Taking advantage of the brief ebb of pain, the Togruta rose up. Precariously balanced on her quivering legs, she hobbled into the other room. She found her way to a chair, and collapsed into it.

Force, her body hurt. Arms, legs, back… it was like she had done a dozen of Anakin's strength training regimens, but for every muscle in her body.

Ahsoka glanced around the room. A few chairs, a table, a small kitchen. Three doors, including the one she came out of. The other two were closed. Several datapads lying in random locations. A mountain of dirty dishes in the sink. So, an apartment. Ahsoka was incapacitated and sitting at a table of an unknown person's apartment. Logically, the next goal was to find out who.

As if reading her thoughts, one of the two closed doors creaked open. A tall woman walked in, carrying a sizable bag under her right arm. She set the bag down, and flipped up her mask to reveal her face.

"Ventress?" Ahsoka croaked. She sounded like a kriffing Geonosian, her voice was so scratchy. "What… how…"

"Would you look at that, the fugitive is finally awake," the bounty hunter's raspy voice directed across the room. "I was beginning to think those stun blasts had knocked you out for good."

"What happened? Why am I here?" Her voice was getting stronger with use, thank the Force.

"Hmm. Well those are two very different questions, I'm afraid," was the reply. Ahsoka finally made eye contact with the older woman as Ventress turned to face her. She looked… off. Uncertain. It made the Padawan uneasy to see the former Sith with such an emotion. "I suppose the first is easier to answer," Ventress continued. "What do you remember?"

Ahsoka sighed, lowering her head against the table. "I was in the warehouse." The outline of the traitorous Jedi flashed across her mind. Ventress didn't need to know about that. Not yet. Ahsoka couldn't trust her with information like that. "Backed up against a wall, surrounded by clones. Then Master Koon came out, and… and he looked at me. He looked at me, and judged me guilty. I could _feel_ his resignation." She closed her eyes. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Control your emotions, Padawan Tano. "After that, I don't know. I think there was chaos for a second before I blacked out."

"That would have been me," Ventress said with a sad smile. "When the Jedi, Koon, was distracted, I knocked him out. Somehow you managed to grab onto me and I carried you out of there and ran."

Ahsoka stared at the bounty hunter. Ventress saved _her_? "I — well, thank you, I suppose. But why?"

"I've been asking myself the same thing over the last day," she muttered. "All I know is that if you were caught in that warehouse, there was no way you were going to get me that pardon."

"But they did catch me," Ahsoka interjected. "A Council Member saw me with the nano-droids and the explosives. I don't think anyone is going to be listening to me anytime soon."

"Perhaps," Ventress mused. "But you are of more use to me alive than in prison, or dead."

"Thanks for the concern," Ahsoka huffed. "Who's to say I don't run away as soon as I get the strength to stand up again?"

Ventress laughed. "Well, if you leave this apartment you'll almost certainly be arrested, tried and executed. Patrols have doubled since the Jedi saw you, and your face is on every holoscreen across the planet. Unless you have a ship to get off the planet, while avoiding the searches they are no doubt conducting on every vessel leaving the system, you're stuck here." She paused, giving the girl a moment to process the information. "Sorry, dear. That's just how it is."

"No, it makes sense." Ahsoka sighed. This was not good. Not at all. "What are you going to do?"

"I could ask you the same question," was the pointed reply. The two women stared at one another, each daring the other to take the first step and break the silence. Ventress cracked first. "I still need to make money. There's enough bounty work on Coruscant to get food for us both for the time being."

"Right. I forgot that you're a bounty hunter now." It still unnerved Ahsoka for a moment when she thought about it. But if Ventress was ever not going to be a Sith assassin, bounty hunting was the profession that made sense.

"People have to make a living somehow," she said with a shrug. The older woman was giving Ahsoka a strange look. It was like she was trying to understand the Togruta girl before her. Searching for which buttons and levers made her mind tick. "You know," Ventress continued, "you would make a fine bounty hunter yourself. For a post-Jedi career, I mean. Though we would have to find you some lightsabers, of course."

"What!?" Ahsoka exclaimed. "I would never, _ever_ , be a bounty hunter. Bounty hunters are… they are despicable. No better than any common criminal. I may be likely expelled from the Order —" her voice caught at that admission, "but I am _not_ going to become the selfish, violent rogue they think I am."

Ventress just grinned in return. "I won't try and tell you that bounty hunting is always a wholesome profession. It isn't. But more often than not, my job is to catch a criminal. To catch the 'bad guy', as you might put it." She paused, and once again gave Ahsoka that piercing look. "I don't think you are someone who can sit back and do nothing. Bounty hunting may not be as glorious as leading an army, but it is something that can make a difference, however small."

Ahsoka steamed in silence. She wished she had the energy, and the lightsabers, to kick Ventress' ass.

Across the room, the Togruta's hostess was putting her mask back on. "Just think about it, kid," she continued as she opened the door. "It's not like you've got much else to do in here anyway."

* * *

The head rolled across the bright white floor, still sizzling at the base where it had been detached from the rest of the body.

Anakin spun around, lopping the hand off of his next target. Another stroke, and the figure came crashing down without its left leg. The Jedi Knight flipped up into the air, adding an unnecessary flourish upon his landing. His lightsaber pierced through the back of the target in front of him, then swung back around to decapitate the one behind.

The sound of clapping hands echoed across the room. "You certainly are a fearsome warrior when faced with a platoon of foam dummies."

Anakin turned to face the man on the other side of the practice room he had rented. "Obi-Wan. I thought the Council was still in session."

The older man inclined his head. "We finished a short time ago. Master Drallig informed me that I might find you here. I must say, saber training in the evening is an odd practice, even for you."

"I felt that some saber play would be a good way to clear my head." Anakin glanced at the dummies lying in pieces across the room.

"Yes, perhaps," Obi-Wan mused. He picked up a lonely hand lying by his foot. "This appears to be more of a massacre than fair fight, however." The tone of disapproval was slight, but noticeable.

"I know, Master," Anakin sighed. "I must do a better job of controlling my emotions. I am sorry."

"On any other day I would agree," Obi-Wan replied. Anakin gave his former master a strange look. The older man was usually quick to criticize Anakin's lack of control, not condone it. "But today is not any other day. You have been through quite a lot recently, Anakin. I daresay even Master Windu would have a difficult time controlling his emotions." Empathy flowed out of the man's Force signature in waves, crashing against his old Padawan.

The Knight made eye contact with the Master, a silent understanding flowing between them. "Was there a reason you came to find me, or did you just want to watch me 'massacre' these dummies?"

Obi-Wan sighed softly. "There was a reason, yes." He walked over to one of the benches lining the room's walls. "Sit with me for a moment, Anakin."

A grim expression overtook Anakin's face. He knew what the Council had been deliberating on today. He was also fairly sure he knew what decision had been made. But it wouldn't make hearing the news any easier.

Obi-Wan continued when Anakin was seated next to him. "The Council meeting today was called to discuss what to do on the Ahsoka situation, as I am sure you know." Anakin nodded. It had been a rather easy guess, considering what Plo Koon had told him when he had arrived at the warehouse. "It was not an easy topic. Many felt that she should be expelled immediately, even though she was not present to defend herself as the Code requires for a typical Jedi expulsion." Obi-Wan paused to try and get a read on his former Padawan. Anakin was expressionless, staring at the floor in front of them. "In the end she was… The Council decided to put Ahsoka's status in the Order on indefinite suspension," he finished hesitantly.

Anakin sighed deeply, wiping his hands across his face. "So she is expelled, in all but name." He paused again, collecting himself as best he could. He had anticipated a full expulsion, but that didn't make the news any easier to wrap his mind around. "It is what I expected."

Obi-Wan placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I am sorry, Anakin. Everything will turn out alright, I promise you. The Force acts in mysterious ways."

"No," Anakin laughed sadly at his side. "I appreciate your words, Obi-Wan, but you are wrong. Everything will not turn out alright. My Padawan — my _friend_ — has been expelled from the Order that was supposed to protect her, accused of a crime we both know she did not commit." He brushed his hands across his face again, this time attempting to wipe away the tears at his eyes.

"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed sadly. "Yes, you may be right. But she is alive, saved by Asajj Ventress for Force knows what reason. Her story is not over yet, and neither is yours."

Anakin sat upright, a cloud of emotions on his face. "Ventress' actions only made the Council more suspicious of Ahsoka. Kriff, even I am confused by it."

"She is not the same person as when we first met her on Christophsis," Obi-Wan replied. The recent memory of the Jedi Master and Ventress fighting side by side against both Dathomirian Sith flashed in his mind. "Being outside of Dooku's influence has changed her. She is no Jedi, to be sure, but neither is she a Sith."

Anakin hummed in reply, deep in thought. Perhaps Obi-Wan was right. Still, he did not trust the former Sith assassin. "I just hope that Ahsoka doesn't get hurt. She is still young, and Ventress is powerful."

"Ahsoka can handle herself. She is smart, and has matured quickly in the past few days." Obi-Wan glanced up at the Knight by his side. "And it doesn't hurt that she learned from the best."

"Lot of good that did her," he laughed morosely. "I don't think the best let their first Padawan get expelled from the Order."

The Jedi Master was silent to that remark. Anakin sighed internally. He probably should not have said that. Obi-Wan was just trying to make him feel better, which he was grateful for.

"I should get back to saber practice, Obi-Wan," Anakin stood up. "I'll try and go easier on the dummies this time."

That got a smile out of Obi-Wan. "One last thing, Anakin." The Knight glanced down at his old friend. What else could there be to say? "The Council wishes me to inform you that they would like you to stay on Coruscant for a week to continue the search for Ahsoka."

"They… what?" Anakin had assumed they would ship him off to the other end of the galaxy as soon as they could. "Why do they want me to stay? Aren't they afraid I'll, I don't know, do something emotional?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said grimly, "Master Windu voiced his concerns on that. But he couldn't deny that you know Ahsoka better than anyone, and that gives you a better chance of finding her than anyone else. They felt one week was an appropriate time frame to dedicate you to the task before redeploying you to the War."

"I see." In honesty, it made sense. More than Anakin thought it would. "I'll inform the rest of the 501st that we'll be staying on Coruscant a while longer. We'll start our search first thing in the morning."

The Knight turned around, drawing his lightsaber to continue his katas against the dummies. But he paused, hands by his sides. Thoughts of his Padawan flashed through his mind. Just random snippets of who she was. Her stubborn refusal to use a standard lightsaber grip. Her childish grin when she was being cheeky with him. Her pure belief in the righteousness of the actions of the Republic and the Order, which had surely been broken by recent events. Anakin's head slumped forward, chin nearly hitting his chest.

"What is it, Anakin?"

"I… I just…" he started. He lifted his head up to face the opposite wall. "What if I actually find her, Obi-Wan? What will I do? What _should_ I do?" He wished Padmé were here. She always knew what to do in these situations.

Obi-Wan stood up. "I do not know." He walked forward, standing side-by-side with his former Padawan. "I cannot say that turning her in to the Republic is the wisest choice. But that is the will of the Council. They — we — would appreciate if you followed orders." He paused, and Anakin caught his gaze. He could see the conflict brewing under Obi-Wan's typical calm demeanor. It was strange look on him. It set Anakin on edge. Obi-Wan was supposed to be the emotionally stable one of their duo. His old master continued, voice slightly quieter than before. "If you do find her, listen to the Force. Let it be your guide." And don't let the Council know if you find her and let her go, was the unspoken hint.

"I should have known you would say that," Anakin replied with a slight smirk. It was a relief to know Obi-Wan was not entirely on the Council's side. "You are getting predictable, master. But it is good advice." Anakin paused. "Listen to the Force. I will try. I just wish it were less vague sometimes."

"Do or do not, young one, there is no try," Obi-Wan said with a wink. "You are a great Jedi, Anakin. Trust in yourself, and trust in the Force."

"Thank you. I will." Anakin did his best to hide a smile at the praise, despite his internal turmoil. It meant more to him than Obi-Wan knew.

His old master smiled in kind. "I will see you in the next few days, I'm sure. May the Force be with you."

"And you as well."

Anakin watched as Obi-Wan left the practice room. He took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. He had a week to search for his Padawan. A week to find out what really happened. Half of him wanted nothing more than to run out of the Temple and find Ahsoka. But the other half knew that finding her now, on Coruscant, could not end well for her. Not unless Anakin disobeyed direct orders from the Council.

It was not going to be easy. Nothing about this search was going to be easy. But Obi-Wan was right. Anakin needed to trust in the Force. It was all he had.

* * *

Ahsoka probably should have known to move back into the bed. She rubbed the back of her neck, grimacing as she massaged the kinks that had developed from falling asleep in the chair. She glanced back at the datapad she had fallen asleep on top of. The large headline of the news Ahsoka had been reading still flashed across the screen.

 ** _REPUBLIC CONTINUES SEARCH FOR FUGITIVE JEDI_**

 _600 credit reward for information leading to her capture_

Below the headline was a picture of the Togruta that had been taken during her earlier imprisonment. Not the best image of herself Ahsoka had ever seen. But probably accurate, if she looked anything like she felt.

She lifted her head to gaze at Asajj Ventress, who was reading her own datapad across the room. The bounty hunter hadn't been here last Ahsoka remembered — she must have been asleep for a while. The whole situation still felt like a dream to her. She was sitting in the living room of her former enemy, reading about a bounty reward on her head put out by government she had once been a commanding officer for. It was like the Force had taken a bet on her life and lost.

"What?" Ventress' voice cut into her thoughts. Ahsoka had been staring without realizing.

"Nothing. Sorry. I was just thinking." She looked away, making a point of intently staring at her datapad.

"You should be." Ventress was looking back at her own datapad now. "You need to figure out what you're going to do. You can't stay in this apartment forever."

"I can't stay on this planet forever, you mean," Ahsoka muttered. She scrolled through the Republic news headlines. It seemed like every other article had her face on it. The whole planet would be able to recognize her by the end of the week.

"If you have any ideas, I'm all ears," the older woman remarked. "I can only take so much of Coruscant as it is."

"Well unless you have a ship with hyperdrive, I'm fresh out of escape plans."

"Not to mention that we would have to be able to take off and pass the searches being performed in orbit without being noticed," Ventress added.

"Anakin once told me about a ship that would be perfect for this job. A small, sleek vehicle with a cloaking device that made it nearly undetectable." She remembered how enamored he had been, even when just talking about it. He'd always had a special place in his heart for ships with unique modifications. "It was only a prototype when he'd gotten to use it. I bet the stealth ships are even better now." Problem was, Ahsoka had absolutely no idea where a ship like that could be found. Not on Coruscant, she was sure.

"A ship with a cloaking device," the bounty hunter was deep in thought, reflected in her voice's airy tone. "I wonder…"

"What is it, Ventress?"

"Probably nothing," she started. "Dooku has a ship with a cloaking ability like that. He showed it to me once, years ago. Said it belonged to his master's former apprentice. I don't know what happened to it, but some of Dooku's most secure storage facilities are here on Coruscant. If it is here, we might be able to steal it."

"Wait, what?" Ahsoka ignored the fact that this one-in-a-million plan was her best shot and not being executed. "Count Dooku, leader of the Separatist Army, owns storage facilities on _Coruscant_?!"

The Dathomirian woman nodded. "I was shocked when I first heard it too. Whoever Dooku's master is, he is very powerful. And not just in the Force."

The thought of the Sith Lord made Ahsoka tremble internally. If the Sith really did have holdings on Coruscant, they were far more influential than the Jedi suspected. At least, if the bits and pieces of what she gathered from Obi-Wan were representative of the Council's knowledge. "If that's true… we have to tell the Council. Or someone. We can't just sit on this information."

"I have been. It's not that hard," Ventress shrugged. "Although, if the Jedi found those facilities Dooku would be absolutely furious." She grinned maliciously. No doubt imagining all the ways she could torment Dooku, Ahsoka was sure. "But first we have to actually find this ship, if it is here, and get off the planet. We can worry about contacting the Jedi afterwards."

"How are we going to find it?" Ahsoka asked. "I'm guessing Dooku won't just tell you where it is."

"I've still got some contacts in his organization I can shake down," she grinned. The bounty hunter stood up, throwing on a cloak and grabbing her mask. "I should be back in a few hours."

"Good luck!" Ahsoka called out just as the door slammed shut. Did she just wish Asajj Ventress good luck? Force, her life was weird right now.

She tried to stay awake, eager to hear Ventress' report when she returned. But after several hours Ahsoka could no longer deny the exhaustion in her body. She collapsed onto her bed, falling asleep almost immediately. It was a good thing, too — Ventress didn't return until the next morning. The Togruta girl glared at her as she sauntered in.

"That was more than a few hours, Ventress. I was starting to get worried."

"Good thing I'm better at my job than you think I am," the bounty hunter retorted. "I have good news."

"The ship is on Coruscant?" Ahsoka questioned hopefully.

"Yes," Asajj replied. "And I managed to find which storage facility it was in after some… persuasion." She smiled sinisterly. Ahsoka did _not_ want to know what 'persuasion' meant.

But the ship was on Coruscant, thank the Force. She had a way off the planet. She had a chance at survival.

"Well alright then," Ahsoka grinned. "Let's go rob a Sith Lord."

* * *

The forest was thick. It was as if the trees were huddling in around her, focusing in on the lone disturbance in an otherwise serene landscape. Whether to trap her or to hide her, she wasn't sure.

Either way, she doubted the serenity would last long. The Rulers were getting close. She could not run from them for much longer. Honestly, she was shocked she had survived for this long. What had it been, a year she was on the run? It felt more like a decade. All for an object no bigger than her fist.

Her eyes scanned the terrain as she dashed through the forest. She needed to find somewhere to hide. They were sure to find the wreckage of her ship within the hour. If she was still exposed when they did, the Rulers would pick up her life trace on their locals scanners.

A branch came flying out of nowhere, thwacking her across the face. She stumbled, falling to her knees on the soft dirt.

"Ow," she muttered. "Damn trees. Need to mind their own business." She wiped a hand across her face. When she pulled it away, her light yellow skin was stained with blood. It was only a flesh wound. She had sustained much worse than that in her life.

A moment later she was back up and running. Not fifty paces later a pile of rocks came into view. Another fifty and she could see a cave opening. She exhaled in relief. A cave was the perfect place to hide. Their scanner couldn't penetrate through that much dirt. At least, she didn't think it could.

The cave began in a short tunnel, which soon opened up into a much larger space. Rock formations dotted the cavern, providing ample cover if she was discovered. The only thing left to do was wait.

And wait she did. For hours, and hours. She had no way to know how long for sure. The cave was deathly silent, save her shallow breathing and the occasional drip of unseen water.

At some point she began sense them outside the cave. She didn't know how, but she knew they were out there. Looking for her. And they were getting closer.

Maybe it was time. She was getting tired. Tired of running, tired of protecting a cube that felt like the weight of a million star systems in her pocket.

She laughed internally. Just two years ago, who would've thought she would even know what a star system was? She was just a servant girl. That was what she had been born to be. And now she was a fugitive, so lost in the vast galaxy that she couldn't have found her way home even if she tried.

A voice, in the distance. Then another, and another. They had found the cave. It was over.

Boots clomped against stone, echoing off the walls, as a couple of them entered the cave. She stood up, prepared to face the tip of the spear. There was no point in hiding. The Rulers would be able to sense her presence from the cave entrance.

"Hey! She's here!" The officer of the two who had entered the cave was the first to see her. His blue skin shimmered in the light coming from the cave entrance. "Notify Commander Wentik that we've found her. And get reinforcements, _fast_." The other nodded and dashed off.

"So, are you going to kill me?" Her eyes left the messenger to make contact with the officer again. A Lieutenant, as she could now see from his uniform.

"I have been ordered to find you, and alert Commander Wentik to your presence upon doing so. I am then to keep you at this position until his arrival."

Of course Wentik wanted to see her. That stupid, sentimental fool. He'd be a General by now if he just used his brains. She moved to take a seat on a rock a bit closer to the Lieutenant.

"Don't move, fugitive. I will restrain you if I have to." He raised his arms into a ready position.

She looked him up and down. He was young, even for a Lieutenant. So she called his bluff, and kept walking.

Anger welled up in the Lieutenant. Well, she thought it was anger. Sometimes she couldn't tell. Emotions were messy like that. Regardless, he was running at her, no doubt in an attempt to subdue her.

His fist flew at her face. She ducked, and dodged to the right to avoid the knee meant as the real attack. She was on his backside now, and he was off balance. His lack of experience showed. She raised her hands to his back, and shoved. But he didn't just fall over as she intended — the Lieutenant flew across the cavern. His head cracked forcefully against the stone wall.

The girl grimaced. It was an accident, though she couldn't say she felt too sorry for killing a Ruler. They deserved it for what they did.

"My, my, you have gotten more powerful since the last time we met," a stern voice echoed across the cavern. She whirled around, facing the newcomer. And nearly two dozen other Rulers. There was a pregnant pause as the two parties stared at each other. "You aren't even going to try to run?"

"Wentik." She did her best to mask the abundance of emotions radiating out of her. It was a failed attempt, she was sure. She didn't have the training the Rulers had to control it. "I am tired of running."

"Indeed. It appears your adventure across the galaxy has finally come to an end, my old friend. All because of some fresh blood on a tree branch." His voice was harsh, cold. Just as it should have been. But still harsher than she had expected, than she had hoped for. "Our scanners picked it up, and it was only a matter of time once we knew you were in the area."

She should have been angry at herself for that slip up. But honestly, she didn't much care. She was tired. And it was nice to see Wentik again.

The Commander walked forward, separating himself from the rest of his troops. Two paces away from her he stopped, hands clasped behind his back.

"Wentik…" she whispered, quiet enough that only the two of them could hear. "I am sorry. For everything."

"I know." His voice softened as well, a drop of what she knew lay behind his facade escaping through. But then the leak was sealed. Back to Commander Wentik. They each had their roles to play.

He raised his voice loud enough for the room to hear. "You are a fugitive of the state. You stand convicted of grand larceny and high treason." He brought his hand up, holding it out towards her. A lifeless grey cube flew out of her cloak, landing in his hand. She felt more than saw the deep breath he took before continuing. "Your actions have upset the balance of our great nation. I have been authorized by my superiors to utilize deadly force upon your capture. However, considering the changes wrought upon you by the Cube, I am not entirely certain that is possible." They both involuntarily glanced at the device still in his outstretched hand. "So, the question remains — what are we going to do with you, Arael?"


	2. Sarir's Confidential Storage

**A/N:**

 **Big thank you to everyone who read chapter 1! I can't promise chapter will always be out as soon as this one, as I'm pretty busy with school and work, but I hope you enjoy this next installment.**

* * *

Chapter 2:

Sarir's Confidential Storage

* * *

"What's your name again, dear?"

"Arael."

"Arael, _ma'am_."

"Sorry," she grimaced. "My name is Arael, ma'am."

The woman sitting in front of the thirteen-year-old girl dipped her head in approval. "You new recruits always need a little reminder of how to treat others with proper respect. That's an important skill, especially here."

Arael nodded, scratching her hand against the small horn on her temple nervously. She needed to not screw this up. The girl glanced around the small office she was seated in, unsure what to say.

"Now, Arael," the lady broke the silence, "As you know, this is the kitchen. And as I am the administrator of this kitchen, you will refer to me as either ma'am or Chef Pava. This is very important work and a very tough work, even for the young ones like yourself. We provide food for nearly half of the Rulers in this base on a regular basis. Do you know what that means?"

"Um…" she paused. "We make a lot of food?"

"Oh, yes, yes indeed," Pava laughed. "We prepare nearly two thousand meals every day. Even on slow days we are still very busy."

The entire time the chef was talking, her eyes travelled up and down girl's body. Arael fidgeted, uncomfortable in her seat under the glare. She felt as if she were under a microscope. The conversation had paused, but her unease did not. Finally, Arael couldn't take it anymore. "What?"

"Watch your mouth, girl," Pava's eyes flicked back up to meet Arael's. The chef's tone was not as aggressive as the words she used. "A Ruler won't be as lenient as I if you speak to them like that. You may think you got the choice job working here in the kitchens, but there is just as much danger present here as in the factories. They may seem happy while they're eating here, but remember this — the Ruler's do not care about your life. Not yours, not mine, not any other of us Zabraks."

"Y-yes Chef Pava." Arael was cowering in her seat. She needed no reminder of how merciless the Rulers could be.

"Now, let's get you to work. I'm going to have you shadow Artep today. He's been here a good long while, so he'll show you the ropes." A small smile appeared on her face. "I will to have to promote him to assistant chef before too long," she muttered.

No sooner were the words out of Pava's mouth than Arael was whisked out into the heart of the kitchen, being led around by a man who looked to be a good ten years her senior. He was nice enough, but certainly had no sympathies for Arael's memory. She was being shown everything at once — where the pots were stored, how to properly light the ovens without getting burnt, which knives were for meat and which weren't.

"You got all of that?" Artep had his hands on his hips as he paused his instruction.

"Uh, yeah, I got that." She most definitely did not get that.

"Then tell me, what temperature does setting five on the grill correspond to?"

"Um…" Arael scratched her horn again. "One hundred and fifty?"

"Not quite. It's one sixty-five. Setting four is one fifty." He smiled knowingly at her. "Don't worry if you don't catch everything, no one does on their first day. You'll get it in time. Now, let's head out front and show you how to serve food."

She nodded and smiled, grateful for the encouragement. Artep was nice. She would like working with him, she thought.

The two left the kitchen, going into the vast dining hall. The room was hundreds of paces long and just as wide, with dozens of rectangular tables filling up the space. It was relatively quiet at the moment, in the lull between the early and late rush times — perhaps one tenth of the seats were filled.

"Just watch me and listen for now, Arael," Artep said. He had a plate in each hand, steam floating off the piles of food.

They walked across the hall, eventually coming to a stop at the end of a table near the front of the room. Arael was fairly sure it was table 3B. Or maybe it wasn't. She couldn't remember for sure. Regardless of its number, the table had three of the blue-skinned Rulers seated at it.

Arael shivered. She had never been so close to one of them. Her instincts told her to run, that it was wrong to be so close.

"Here are your orders, sirs," Artep stepped forward, setting the plates down in front of the two seated at the end. She stayed where she was, a few steps back from the others.

Arael glanced at the two who Artep had served. They continued their conversation, all but ignoring Artep and Arael's presence entirely. But the third… he was staring right at her.

Why? What did she do? Was he angry?

She took a step to the side, moving closer behind her companion, her eyes widening in fear.

"Thank you for coming today. Enjoy your meal," Artep finished bluntly. He turned, grabbing Arael's shoulder to lead her back to the kitchen.

" _Wait_."

Arael's body stopped involuntarily. Artep had come to a halt as well. They both turned slowly back to the table. It was the third Ruler, the one who had been staring at her. He was standing now, on the side of the table closest to them. His right arm was extended slightly in their direction.

The blue-skinned man smiled fiendishly. His eyes were still on Arael. "You don't take away my eye candy until I say you can."

Arael felt Artep stiffen at her side. "O-of course, sir."

The man walked up to them, crouching down to Arael's height. She wanted nothing more than to sprint to the kitchen, but fear kept her rooted in place. At least, she thought it was fear.

"If only you were a few years older," the Ruler muttered in front of her. His finger traced a short line across her cheek."Short _and_ cute. Just my type. I'll have to keep my eye on you." A wicked grin grew on his face. He stood up, and took a step back. "Alright, I suppose I'll let you go."

Arael felt her muscles loosen in an entirely unnatural sensation. Artep had them on the way back to the kitchen in a flash. But, Arael was sure she felt a pair of eyes following her all the way there.

The rest of that week followed much the same way as the first. She came to the kitchens in the morning, and shadowed one of the senior kitchen staff all day. Then went back home at night. Rinse, repeat. It was dull work. But certainly better than the factory her parents worked at.

At least, so she thought.

It was the dinner rush of her fifth day on the job when it happened. She was out serving again, shadowing a rather dense woman named Eemin. Being the afternoon rush, the dining hall was bursting full with hungry Rulers and Zabrak servants rushing around to fill their orders. In other words, it was chaos. At least it seemed so to Arael, with the loud conversation and all the commotion, but Artep had told her two days ago this level of disorder was fairly normal.

At the moment, Arael and Eemin were rushing plates over to table 1E. They skidded to a halt in front of the table, reached the plates forward and —

 _CRASH_.

Arael whipped her head around.

It was the table 2D, nearly adjacent to the one she was serving. Artep was on the ground, an empty tray in his hands. Pottery shards, once plates, littered the ground around him. And above towered a Ruler, covered from head to toe in the day's unfortunately greasy entree.

"You Zabrak _scum!_ " His snarl echoed across the hall. The cacophony of a hundred conversations died down. The room seemed to bend as the collective focus moved to the scene filling Arael's vision.

"I-I'm so sorry, sir, please, let me—" Artep didn't get a chance to finish. A blue fist smashed across his face, knocking him back to the ground.

"This suit was new!" Another punch to the face. Blood dripped from Artep's nose, streaking down to his jawline.

"My first day as a Lieutenant." One to the stomach. Arael felt her eyes begin to sting.

"And you just had to ruin it!" Face again. And again. And again. And again.

Artep was motionless. His lumpy face seemed to have melded into the floor, his blood forming a seamless barrier between the two. Specks of white dotted the growing red pool. Teeth or horn fragments — probably both.

"Oh, Artep, you poor boy," Eemin whispered behind her. "You will be missed." Arael felt the woman's hand against her shoulder. Who it was meant to comfort she wasn't sure.

At some point the dining hall had become loud again. But instead of conversation, it was filled with laughter and whoops of the Rulers observing the scene. The closer they were to table 2D, the louder they were.

Just minutes later, another Zabrak crew appeared. They took Artep's body, wiped down the floor clean and disappeared. Eemin brought Arael back to the kitchen. Pava told her to stay there. And so dinner continued.

Back in the kitchen, tears fell openly down Arael's face. They dripped with rhythmic plops into the sink below her.

* * *

"Here, I got this while I was out. It should work for you."

Ahsoka reached up and grabbed the object Ventress tossed to her. It was a simple cloak. Grey, water repellent fabric. Long, billowing sleeves and a large hood.

This was day two of Ahsoka not leaving the apartment. Day two of the blue lightsaber haunting her memories.

"It has an extra large hood," Ventress continued from across the room. "Thought that might be better for hiding those horns of yours."

"They're called montrals," Ahsoka grumbled. "But thanks. It's a good idea, if I'm ever going to leave this place."

Ventress laughed. "Believe me, I'm just as tired of this situation as you are."

Ahsoka heard the older woman continue talking, but she wasn't listening. Her mind was entirely distracted by something else. The blue lightsaber. And the saber's wielder — the small, masked opponent. They had been extremely agile, had moved with a grace that now seemed ominously familiar to the Togruta. Where had she seen it before?

"Ahsoka," Ventress' voice cut into her thoughts. "Are you alright, girl?"

Her head jerked up to the older woman. After a pause, she spoke. "Do you think it's possible that a Jedi defected from the Order?"

Ventress' eyes narrowed at her. "Why?"

"It's just a question," she replied innocently.

"Questions like that one are never just questions."

"Just answer me, then I'll explain," Ahsoka sighed.

"Fine," Ventress grunted. "I suppose it is possible. Count Dooku defected after all, didn't he?" She paused for a moment. "But I would be surprised if it happened again. I don't think Dooku would look back to the Jedi for an apprentice."

"Hmm." Ahsoka furrowed her brow. "Perhaps they were not a Sith, then."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Ventress stared at the girl. "It is time you explained yourself, Tano."

Should she trust Ventress? It was a risk. Who knew who she could tell, what she could do with such information? But the bounty hunter had done nothing but help Ahsoka, in ways that were entirely unnecessary for her to have done. Perhaps it was time she began to return the favor.

"I— there was—" Ahsoka started. Slow down. Focus. You can trust her. "I think a Jedi was the one who bombed the Temple. Not me, I mean. Before you rescued me in the warehouse, I was attacked by someone with a blue lightsaber. Someone who clearly had training in Jedi combat techniques. They were the one who disarmed me, and knocked me into the nano-droid crates just before I was found."

"Oh." Ventress' eyes popped in surprise. " _Ohh._ Well, that is big news. The Jedi have a saboteur from within. How interesting. And they chose to frame you, of all people."

"It's _interesting_? It's awful! They already blew up the Temple, imagine what more they might do before they are caught!" The only thing that kept Ahsoka from yelling was the knowledge that keeping a low profile was imperative to survival at the moment.

"This is the Order that gave up on you without a second thought," Ventress replied pointedly. "You shouldn't feel too bad for them. Kriff, if I were you I might go join this traitor's cause."

"Well I guess that's where you and I differ." she huffed. "I may not be a Jedi, but that doesn't mean I want them destroyed. They still do good."

"Oh, is that right? And when was the last time someone off Coruscant thanked you for all the good that the Jedi's precious Clone Wars are doing?" Ahsoka could nearly taste the sarcasm dripping off Ventress' words.

"Uh… Well…" Ahsoka rubbed her lekku, frowning at her own lack of a response. "Shut up. Shouldn't we be heading to that storage facility soon anyway?"

"Very smooth." Ventress smirked. "But you are right. The more time we can scout the place out today, the better chance we'll have of actually succeeding."

"So let's go." Ahsoka hopped up from her chair, and flipped on the grey cloak. She could hardly see out of it, the hood came down so low. "Perfect. No one will know I'm on the Republic's most wanted list with a hood so obviously hiding my face. Great job, Asajj."

"Half the underworld is trying to hide their face from the Republic. You'll fit right in. We only have to avoid the security droids and clone patrols."

"Sounds like fun."

"Oh, it will be." Ventress flicked up a smaller hood of her own. "Now, let's get moving before we waste the entire day bickering. Every second we waste lowers our chance of escaping this mess."

* * *

"So this is where Commander Wolffe found Ahsoka?"

"Yes, sir," the clone replied. "They had her cornered against the crates."

The area was a mess. Anakin walked slowly, doing his best to avoid the spilled crates and equipment. Scorch marks littered the area, coalescing at one point near the far wall. He crouched down at this center. There were longer burn marks here as well. Lightsaber blades. Ventress' work, no doubt.

"Rex, have you gotten Wolffe's report on how Ventress escaped yet?" The Jedi remained focused on the ruined floor.

"Just came in a moment ago, General Skywalker." Anakin felt Rex walk up to his side. "Ventress jumped down from one of these crate structures, knocking out General Koon in the process. She then put the unconscious Commander Tano on her back and fled back atop the crates, leaving through the east exit."

Anakin stood, and looked up at the piles of storage boxes Rex had just referred to. It was the perfect route to escape through the warehouse. A flat, steady surface that provided ample coverage from below. No one ever said the former assassin wasn't smart.

"You're a rather good strategist, wouldn't you say, Rex?"

"I was designed to be able to adapt to situations quickly and build a plan of action off of said situation, sir. And I've risen to the rank of Commander based on my ability to do so," Rex replied. "So yes, I would say I'm a good strategist."

Anakin smiled faintly. Something about the way clones talked was always just a touch humorous. "Assume for a moment that Ahsoka is guilty, that she is responsible for the Temple bombing and the murder." The Commander nodded beside him. "What is her reason for coming here?"

"I've been considering that since we got here, sir. The only explanation I have is that she came here to get rid of the nano-droids, which would be the only physical evidence against her. But it is a poor plan, no matter how you look at it. Commander Tano was never afraid to take a risk, but this borders on lunacy." He paused. "This is, of course, assuming she is guilty."

"Of course, Rex. I came to the same conclusion. This plan is far too bold, even for someone who learned from myself. Much like murdering Letta Turmond in her cell, while on camera. It just doesn't make sense."

"What are you suggesting, sir?" Rex's eyes met Anakin's. The Jedi could see the hopeful glint in them. Rex wanted to prove Ahsoka's innocence as much as he did.

"Nothing, Commander. Just doing my best to analyze what we know."

Anakin's gaze rose back to the ceiling, meandering across until coming to a stop at the wide hole in the flat metal directly above him. "Have any of the reports mentioned what this hole is for?"

"Building manifest says it is for organizational purposes, sir. Allows the crates to be moved from one floor to the other more easily. There is one on the southern wall as well." Anakin noticed that Rex did not even need to consult his datapad for that information. The clone's tactical memory never ceased to impress him.

"I'm going to look around up there. Continue the search on this level, and alert me if you find anything."

"Yes, sir." Rex turned back to the rest of the 501st, joining a group of clones by the wall of nano-droid filled crates.

With a grunt Anakin jumped, using the Force to propel him through the opening in the ceiling to the next floor. He landed with a thud, the cold metal of his right hand scratching against that of the floor.

The upper level was an absolute wreck. Crates and their contents laid strewn across the floor. Barrels sat at awkward angles against walls, some even sliced in half. To his left a pipe had burst open, the area around it scorched in what appeared to be the remnants of a small explosion. Somehow, Anakin doubted this had all happened independent of his suspended apprentice.

Two paces into his examination of the chaos, Anakin noticed a mark on the ground. A lightsaber burn. Another, four paces beyond. Even more, scattered among the wreckage in front of him. His trained eye could tell the marks belonged to two saber wielders. The Jedi followed the path of blackened streaks, attempting to follow this battle in reverse. The marks delineated a relatively straight course, leading him further into the warehouse — then vanished. They led straight into the explosion, and disappeared into the burnt floor.

He was going to have to call up a team to this level. They needed to plot out these marks if they had any hope of understanding what happened here. Something was definitely wrong with this picture. According to Wolffe's report, Ventress had only ever been on the lower level where they had found Ahsoka. And why would they have fought just moments before Ventress saved her from capture? None of this made sense.

" _General Skywalker, come in._ " Anakin's comm link flared to life.

"Skywalker here. What is it, Rex?"

" _We've found something, sir. I think you'll want to come take a look at it._ "

"I think I have something up here as well. I'll be down in a moment, then let's get a team ready to conduct a full search of this floor."

" _Right away, sir. Rex out._ "

Anakin walked back to the hole, making sure to avoid damaging the saber marks in the metal. He floated down to the first level, landing softly. Rex had moved further down the wall containing the nano-droid crates, standing at the forefront of a small group of clones. Anakin walked to them swiftly, wasting as little time as possible.

"I'm here, Rex. What is it you found?"

"It's… it's Commander Tano's lightsaber, sir." The Clone paused, concern lacing his expression. He pointed up, to the top of a crate nearly twice Anakin's height. "Tup saw it on one of the crates here. He was scanning the scene from on top of one of the stacks across the way."

Anakin said nothing. He leapt up, settling on top of the crate Rex was pointing to. Sure enough, there it was. Ahsoka's lightsaber. Anakin's frown deepened. The thought of his apprentice being in the Coruscant underworld without either of her lightsabers was a sobering one. It was wrong. A lightsaber was a Jedi's life. For the first time since Ahsoka had escaped, Anakin felt real fear for his padawan.

 _Fear leads to anger_ , the old adage crept into Anakin's mind. He did his best to calm himself. Ahsoka was smart. She was strong with the Force. She would be fine. He just needed to do his duty and find her.

Out of instinct, Anakin looked up. The crate was just below the eastern edge of the hole. The same side as the explosion on the floor above.

"General Skywalker?" Rex's voice called from below him.

"There was an explosion on the level above us. Near the edge of the hole directly above this crate." Anakin jumped back down to the floor, turning to address his Commander directly. "If I had to guess, that is what caused Ahsoka to lose her lightsaber. The floor also shows signs of an altercation between two saber wielders. Send a unit up to that floor, and have them scan the entire level for saber marks. I want to know every detail about how that fight happened. And call in a team from the Temple. I want the lightsaber marks analyzed, see if we can identify just how many sabers were in use at this warehouse."

"Yes, sir. I'll have Fives put together a squad right away."

"Thanks, Rex. And one last thing, if you don't mind." The clone looked up from his datapad, putting his full attention on the Jedi General. "Have you had any luck finding the owner of the nano-droid crates?"

"Unfortunately we are still unsure. The records kept on file for warehouses like these are inconsistent at best. We have, however, found a name and location for the owner of the warehouse building. A certain Iccifft Sarir. A Mirialan, living here on Coruscant. He owns several other warehouses in this area as well."

Rex turned the datapad to Anakin. It was an advertisement, showing a middle-aged man giving a big thumbs up with the tagline: _Worried about storage theft? Call Sarir's Confidential Storage today! No questions asked, guaranteed!_

Anakin sighed. He hated the lower levels. Why the Senate put up with scum like this on Coruscant he never understood.

"Send me everything you have on him. I think it's high time someone found out how confidential his storage really is."

* * *

"Here they come." Ahsoka pointed to the armored pair walking on the sidewalk below them. "Fifteen minutes, again. Like clockwork."

The Togruta and her Dathomirian partner were perched on the roof of a building on level 1327, one of the larger levels of the planet. Directly across from them was the ship. The ship with the cloaking device, the one ship that could get through the blockade of warships and scanners in Coruscant's space. The Scimitar, Ventress had said was its name. A good name for a ship, Ahsoka thought.

Unfortunately, the Scimitar was going to be rather hard to get their hands on.

Although maybe not as hard as she had expected, if these guards were any indication. They had been scouting the building from afar for an hour now. One guard left the small security station once every fifteen minutes to rotate with a guard from the other side of the building. That was it. Nothing fancy. Just six guards protecting a warehouse of Sith treasures.

"It's too predictable. We're missing something. There's got to be a catch," Ventress whispered from her side.

"Well, there's probably an alarm system inside. But maybe they're just lazy," Ahsoka shrugged back. "I doubt anyone has ever tried to break in."

"Perhaps. But we need to know more, we need to be sure. This plan _has_ to work."

Ahsoka agreed. If this plan failed they would both be caught and executed, or worse. She stared down at the storage facility, racking her brain for an idea. The walls of the building were bare metal, the only break in them coming at the large front doors and the —

"I have a plan." Ahsoka stood up suddenly, making sure her cloak was still keeping her covered. "You stay here and keep watching the guards. We still need to know when the shift change occurs. I'm going to go do some recon."

"What are you proposing?" Ventress eyed her curiously.

"The vents. I can crawl inside in between the guard rotations. I've done it before."

"No. It's too risky. You're going to get caught."

"Trust me, Ventress," Ahsoka implored. "I know what I'm doing. We need to know more, just as you said. This is the best way to do it."

"And what if you set off an internal alarm?" The older woman questioned. "You won't be able to get out, and we'll lose our only chance off this planet."

"I'll stick to the ventilation shafts. Not even Dooku is cautious enough to rig them with alarms." She smiled. "You'd be surprised how much you can learn from inside the walls."

"I still don't like it."

"Duly noted, Asajj."

Ahsoka ran to the opposite end of the roof, and jumped down. She landed with a soft thud in the alleyway below. The next guard rotation was about to happen, if they sticked to the schedule. She needed to be there when it happened. Ahsoka dashed around the building, making sure to keep herself hidden from the guards once they came into view. She reached the side of the storage facility just in time. The guard was making his way across, strutting along a path he'd walked a thousand times over.

She glanced back to the building she had jumped from. Ventress' head was a just barely noticeable dot on the roof, and only because Ahsoka knew where to look.

The guard was two thirds of the way down now. Ahsoka's entire body itched in anticipation. She knew she would be fine — fifteen minutes was more than enough time for her to get in — but the stakes were higher than ever before. She needed to not screw this up. The guard turned, and disappeared behind the far wall. It was her move now.

Ahsoka dashed out into the open, skidding to a halt at the ventilation screen. She placed her hands on the metal, closing her eyes in concentration. It was attached with screws, thankfully. She twisted her hands as quickly as she dared. Too fast and the screws might squeak.

Clink! One screw fell to the ground. It was soon follow by three more, and Ahsoka deftly caught the screen before it hit the ground. She hopped up into the shaft, scooting forward until she was completely inside.

Now came the hard part. Putting the screen back on. She reached out in the Force, levitating the screen back to cover the vent. Using one hand to hold it in place, Ahsoka used her other to pick up the screws one by one and replace them. Fortunately she didn't need to put them in all the way. After all, she was going to be coming out the same way she came in if everything worked.

The ventilation shaft was much like every other one Ahsoka had ever been in. Cold, slightly damp, and very cramped. She crawled forward, moving cautiously to minimize any noise she made.

The first panel she came across was rather boring. She could only see just what you would expect in a storage facility. Boxes, crates and bins. None were marked in a way that Ahsoka could glean any meaning from. So she kept crawling. Left turn here, right turn there. She passed a few more panels that held nothing of value. A few empty hallways, even a bathroom. She hurried past that one without hanging around for too long. But at the sixth panel, Ahsoka finally found what she was looking for. And it wasn't good.

She pressed her face up against the grate, taking in as much of the scene as she could. Rows of battle droids. B1's and B2's only, it seemed. The room wasn't lit, preventing her from seeing all of them. There were at least fifty in that room. And if there was one room full of droids, that likely meant there were more.

Well, now she knew what the real security system was.

Ahsoka kept crawling. Where there were droids, there were control centers. She and Ventress were going to need to disable those droids first for their plan to work. They didn't have the time to destroy them all while the guards called for backup.

After what felt like an eternity of crawling, and several dead ends, she found it. One man and one woman, both human, sat in a well lit room watching walls covered in holoscreens. At their hands were dozens of control panels. It looked like the whole facility ran out of this room. Doors, droids, ray shields, cameras. It all came from here.

Ahsoka let her eyes roam across the holoscreens, seeing if there was anything of interest. For the most part it was what she had already found — hallways, rooms full of crates, a few depicting what looked like the roof. But one showed the only thing Ahsoka cared about in the entire facility. The Scimitar, on live holoscreen right in front of her. Ventress' information had been accurate, thank the Force.

Ahsoka let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding in, and smiled. Maybe this plan had a shot after all.

Backing from the control room ventilation panel, she began to make her way back out of the tunnel system. She did her best to memorize the path, but she couldn't be sure she had it right. She would have to hope she could recognize the route when they actually broke in.

It was about a half hour journey before she made it back to the panel leading outside. Five minutes more, and a guard walked past. Two more, and the panel was off. Five more again, and the panel was back on and Ahsoka had disappeared without a trace.

Soon she was back on the rooftop. Ventress was still there. Ahsoka wasn't sure how long she had been in the facility. It felt like forever, but it easily could have just been an hour or two.

She walked up slowly, staying crouched down to keep herself hidden from the guards below.

"Hey. I'm back."

Ventress whirled around, hands gripping her lightsabers. "Kriff, girl, don't do that."

Ahsoka smirked. She had just scared Asajj Ventress, former Sith assassin. "I think you should be saying you're welcome."

"You found something?"

"About fifty somethings, at least. Battle droids. They're deactivated right now, but I'm sure that as soon as an alarm goes off they will turn on. But good news is, I also found the control center for the entire facility. Droids, doors, everything."

"Can you find your way back to it?" Ventress' face was a strange mixture of emotions. The only one Ahsoka could read clearly was shock.

"I think so," she replied. Ahsoka grimaced internally. She did think she could find her way back, but they would be screwed if she couldn't. "Did you find anything else out from here?"

"I saw the shift change. Nothing special. Three people came, Three left." Her eyes were back across the street, and her expression was back to looking bored to death. "I did find out where the Scimitar is being kept in there, though. You see that rectangle on the roof?"

Ahsoka's eyes followed Ventress' finger, and nodded. It was on the far side of the building. A large rectangle carved into the roof. Around it were various generators and other equipment, among which she knew were at least a few cameras.

"It's a door. I went up to a high roof for a bit where I could see it more clearly. It is where they brought the ship in. It's got to be right underneath."

Ahsoka couldn't keep the grin off her face any longer. "So we know where the ship is, and we know how to open the hangar door and turn off the droids."

Ventress' smiled in agreement. "We might just be able to pull this off."

* * *

Anakin's wrist comm beeped. He glanced down from his speeder controls just enough to open the channel.

"This is Skywalker."

" _It's Rex, sir. The survey of the warehouse has just been completed._ " The clone's voice came in over heavy static. The amount of metal in Coruscant's underworld often interfered with wireless comm channels.

"Anything I should know about before I meet with Sarir?"

" _Nothing pertaining to him specifically, no. However there is one piece of information I thought you might want right away._ "

"Well don't hold out on me Rex, what's the big news?"

" _It's the report from the team we called in from the Temple, sir. The lightsaber burns throughout the warehouse belonged to four different lightsabers. Two were used in the lower level, and two in the upper level."_

So Anakin had been right. "There was a duel in the upper level then. Have they been able to match the burn marks to any specific lightsabers?"

" _Just the ones belonging to Commander Tano's lightsaber, which were in the upper level._ "

"Yes, that makes sense. And we can be fairly sure the two blades on the main level are Ventress'. Wolffe's report said she used both."

" _That still leaves one saber unaccounted for._ " It was stating the obvious, but an unidentified lightsaber here was a huge deal.

"It points to an unknown player in this entire scheme. Someone who is a good enough duelist with a saber to defeat Ahsoka."

" _I don't mean to overstep my bounds, sir, but do you think it's possible that a… a Jedi is responsible for all this?_ "

"If you had asked me two days ago, I wouldn't have thought it possible. Kriff, you know I didn't believe Ahsoka was guilty for a second, and look at the evidence against her." Anakin paused. His words weighed heavily upon him. "But there are only so many lightsabers in the galaxy, and even fewer people who know how to use them. Most of whom are Jedi."

" _We'll find the owner of this particular saber, General. Don't you worry._ "

"I sure hope so. Good work Rex, as usual. Keep me informed if anything else is found."

" _Understood, and thank you, sir. Rex out._ "

Anakin's comm beeped again as the channel closed. The report was disturbing, but it was what Anakin had been expecting. Every moment he continued this investigation, he stepped closer and closer to one conclusion. There was a traitor in the Jedi ranks.

He was pulled out of his somber thoughts as a large sign came into vision. Sarir's Confidential Storage, confidentiality still guaranteed. It was time for Anakin to get some answers the old fashioned way.

He strode into the office, and immediately found himself thrust against the wall. The office was packed, surely far beyond the legal limit. Apparently lots of people had things they needed to hide down here. Ignoring the conventions laid out before him, Anakin beelined for the secretary seated at the desk in front of the only other door in the room.

"Excuse me, miss," he addressed the Rodian secretary, "I need to speak with Mister Sarir. It's urgent."

"Join the club. Everyone in here says their case is urgent. Just take a number and wait."

"It's Jedi business. You need to let me in." She stared back at him blankly, clearly unconvinced. Anakin let out a groan. Kriffing lower levels of Coruscant. "Is Sarir even in his office?"

"Just take a number, sir. The wait isn't as long as it looks."

Oh, Anakin was pretty sure the wait was exactly as long as it looked. But he could answer his own question. He focused his attention into the office, feeling the life energy around him. Compared to the lobby, the office was like a quiet day on Naboo. Just two life signatures. So Sarir was in.

He snapped his head up to the door, and walked on past the secretary despite her yelling at him to stop. Anakin opened the door, finding a middle aged Mirialan conversing with an older Falleen man.

"Wha— what is the meaning of this?!" The Mirialan cried out, getting to his feet in emphasis.

Anakin ignored him, instead focusing on the Falleen. " _Out_." He stressed the word with the Force, and the man scurried out before Anakin could blink. Now it was just him and Sarir. Perfect. The Jedi walked into the office, closing the door behind him.

Sarir's tirade continued. "I demand to know why this egregious—"

With a swish of his hand Anakin shoved the man back into his chair, causing the man to stop talking immediately. The look of anger in Sarir's eyes immediately transformed to fear.

"Now," Anakin started, "you are going to listen to me, and answer when I ask you a question. Understood?" He got an emphatic nod in reply. "Good. Now, you are Iccifft Sarir, owner of the warehouse on level 1315 that is currently under investigation?"

"Yes," Sarir gulped.

"Do you know who owns the nano-droids in that warehouse?"

"Nano-droids?" The Mirialan laughed nervously. "I don't know anything about any nano-droids."

"Don't play games with me, Sarir. I'm really not in the mood for that." Anakin raised his hand threateningly at the man.

"Okay, okay, don't hurt me!" The man cowered away in his chair. "I don't know anything about the droids, I promise! It came from one of the prepaid anonymous accounts, it's untraceable."

Anakin stared at Sarir. He wasn't sure whether the sweaty man was to be trusted. The man looked scared to the bone, and scared people usually told the truth. It made sense the droids would be from an anonymous account. Those were all too common in the underworld. But he couldn't afford to miss vital information if Sarir was lying. But just as Anakin opened his mouth to speak again, Sarir blurted out ahead of him.

"Look, if you're with the lady, tell her I'm sorry but I already told her everything I know. I'm sorry I lied about the droids, I just have a level of trust I have to keep with my clients. I was telling the truth on the other thing. I don't control the security on the other warehouse, I just own the building."

This caught his attention. "The lady?"

"You know, tall, bald, really hot but in a way that makes you want to…" He trailed off as he caught the Jedi's curious expression. "You don't work for her. Kriff me."

Could Anakin possibly be this lucky? "Grey skin? Wears a mask?"

The Mirialan gulped again. "I don't think I should—"

"I said don't play games with me Sarir, or I'll have you arrested for obstruction of justice on the spot."

"Kriff man, okay, yes that's her. I don't know what her name is if you're looking for her, just that she used to work for one of my clients."

Of course this guy had Separatist clients. As soon as this was over, Anakin was going to be sure Sarir's Confidential Storage got shut down. But he kept these opinions to himself.

"The warehouse she was interested in. Why? And where is it?"

"I don't know. Honest, I don't. It's my level 1327 warehouse. The entire thing is rented out by one of the anonymous accounts. She wanted to know about the security there, and I told her I didn't know anything." Sarir coughed into his fist. "Which was the truth, but it's not like I'd give away security details on my warehouses anyway."

Anakin stood up, causing the Mirialan to flinch in surprise. "Thank you, Sarir. You've been helpful. Now go back to doing whatever illegal business it is you do." He turned with a flip of his cloak, disappearing from the establishment before Sarir could sputter anything back to him.

Outside, Anakin jumped into his speeder, and ran his hands through his hair. Asajj Ventress was interested in Sarir's level 1327 warehouse. That meant Ahsoka was interested in that warehouse. He needed to know what that warehouse had that was so important.

Anakin was going to that warehouse first thing tomorrow morning.


	3. However Long I Have It

**A/N:**

 **Sorry about the wait on this chapter. Life has been hectic with the end of the semester coming up. To usernamesarebad: I know the scenes with Arael seem out of place, but they will connect to the rest of the story. Eventually. Just bear with me :)**

 **Thank you for reading!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

 **However Long I Have It**

* * *

During the day, Coruscant was loud. There was an inescapable buzz from the thousands of speeders. It penetrated through the thickest walls. Eventually one could ignore it, but never entirely.

This was why Anakin loved Coruscant nights. It was quiet. Not silent — the planet was never silent — but it was quiet.

Quiet enough for meditation. Quiet enough to take a deep breath. Quiet enough to relax his mind. Quiet enough to think.

The Jedi Knight was sitting cross-legged in the main room of his quarters, facing the windows overlooking the city. Lights dotted the dark backdrop, twinkling as they were turned on or off. Insects flew past his window, emboldened by the relative lack of activity the nighttime brought. He felt the ventilation unit about to turn on, and his chest bristled in preparation against the cold air that would come.

Anakin closed his eyes, doing his best for his mind to hum in sync with the planet around him. He'd always found that Coruscant had a particularly vibrant Force signature, due to the sheer number of people and Jedi on the planet. Usually this made it easier for him to meditate, easier to focus on the living energy. But today, even in the quiet of night, he had no success. He could feel the Force around him, that was not the problem. But where normally its power would pull him away from his present, Anakin felt as though he was being pushed towards his distraction.

His sitting there, attuned to the billions of specks of light all around him, emphasized even more the absence of one. One single, powerful beacon of life that usually sat in the room adjacent to the one Anakin was in now. One that was now somewhere among the billion others, lost to his senses.

A loud beep pulled Anakin from his thoughts. A different speck of light stood just outside his door, but one just as familiar to him as the one he missed now. The door opened with a wave of his hand. His visitor walked in, not saying a word, and sat just as Anakin was to his right.

"Obi-Wan," Anakin greeted his old master. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Not disappointed, I hope." Obi-Wan barely moved a muscle in his reply. He too was looking out into the Coruscant night. "I wanted to spend some time with my first Padawan while we were still in the same star system."

"You know my door is always open to you." Obviously, seeing as Obi-Wan was already sitting in his home. "I've been trying to meditate, but with little success so far."

"Too many distractions?" The Master hummed in question. "I find it more difficult to meditate while on a mission as well."

Anakin sighed ."More like not enough distraction," he said quietly. His head involuntarily turned to glance at the doors to the two bedrooms in his quarters.

"Ah. I should have guessed."

Anakin could hear the condolences at the tip of Obi-Wan's tongue. But that had already been done. The time for apologies was past, and they both knew it. Life had to go on.

"How goes your investigation?" His old master filled the silence.

"Well enough. Rex and I are taking a platoon tomorrow morning to investigate a lead."

"Is it a good one?"

"I don't know," Anakin replied. He watched as a ship flew slowly down the speeder lane outside his window. "We don't really have much else to go on at this point, though."

"Perhaps it is better that way." Obi-Wan's hand rose to stroke his beard. "I fear that the Council would not give her a fair trial. It would set a dangerous precedent for war times."

"Forgive me, Master," Anakin's eyes narrowed. "But I fear Ahsoka's death more than any precedent the Council might set. She is innocent. And the Council is wasting one of the Republic's best legions to pin the blame on her."

"I know, Anakin," the older man sighed. "But they do not know Ahsoka as we do, and the evidence that exists does point to her guilt. We cannot blame them for trying to find her."

"Yes, I _can_ blame them. Most of the Council members have worked with Ahsoka before. Kriff, Master Koon is as close to her as anyone. They all know her! But every single one of them voted for her suspension." Anakin nearly snarled as he spoke. "Voted for vengeance."

Obi-Wan looked at him now, his empathy only barely covering the shock he felt at his old Padawan's strong words. "Be careful with your words, Anakin —"

"Careful?! That's what you have to say to me?" Anakin exploded. "You can't deny this! Vengeance is the only word to describe how they've treated Ahsoka. And if there is anything I know, it's that vengeance is not the way of the Jedi. So don't tell me to be careful, Obi-Wan. Not about this."

Anakin took in a deep breath, and clenched his eyes closed as he exhaled. He was angry. There was no denying it. He was very angry. At the Council, at the War, at himself. But he shouldn't have yelled like that at Obi-Wan, his best friend. This wasn't his fault.

"Forgive me, Master, I —"

Obi-Wan stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. "No, Anakin. You've apologized for your emotions enough in your life. You do not need to apologize when you are right."

It was Anakin's turn to be shocked.

"The Clone Wars have wreaked havoc on the Jedi Order," Obi-Wan continued grimly. "In more ways than any of us can recognize, I believe. We have become mistrusting and paranoid, and are far too often being used as the sword of the Republic." He paused. "But your being right doesn't mean you should be idiotic, Anakin. Talking about this in public could easily lose you the backing of the Jedi and the Republic during times like this. And Force knows the Republic has ways of dealing with dissent."

The man's grip tightened slightly on Anakin's shoulder. "I don't like this any more than you do. The Order will need to change, but the Clone Wars have to end first. The only way that happens is with the Republic and the Order working together. You are a big part of making sure that work is done, both because of the 501st and your relationship with the Chancellor. I — we, need you here."

Anakin was silent for a moment. Maybe Obi-Wan was right. That, for now, the ends justified the means. Even if he didn't like it.

"I think I understand," he replied. "But I still have a bad feeling about all of this. I'm beginning to believe that no matter how this war ends, the galaxy will be in very bad shape."

"Yes. I have had the same thoughts. But keeping the Republic intact is better than giving Dooku control of the galaxy." Obi-Wan's dropped his hand from Anakin's shoulder, resting it back in his lap.

Anakin just stared out into the night, deep in contemplation. He could still feel the anger within him. He also understood his old master's words, and the logic behind them. They couldn't let the Sith get control of the galaxy. But every day, Anakin felt the cloud in the Force growing larger. The side of the Force he wasn't familiar with. The Dark Side of the Force, he assumed. It unsettled him, and amplified all the negative emotions he had built up in the last few days.

Perhaps some meditation with Obi-Wan, familiar as it was, would do him some good. He was never one to seek out meditation, but at the moment it felt like just what he needed.

So the pair sat in silence. Gradually their deep concentration in the Force, in addition to the late hour, lulled them both into a trance-like state. Hours passed, unnoticed by the two Jedi. They could have stayed like that for days, Anakin later thought, had he not left his windows uncovered.

Anakin blinked as light streamed in from the rising sun. In a moment of confusion, he glanced around the room to get his bearings. His old master was still sitting by his side, though Obi-Wan was not yet awake. He stood up, stretching his arms wide as he tried to convince his body it was time to get up.

"Obi-Wan." He glanced down. No response.

"Hey. It's morning. Wake up." Anakin pushed him slightly, causing Obi-Wan to snap back to reality.

"What? Anakin?" Slowly the Jedi Master realized where he was. "Oh, it can't be morning already."

"I'm afraid so," was the mournful reply. "And I have to leave soon."

"Yes, duty calls for me as well." Obi-Wan rose to match his friend. "I'm instructing a seminar on the Soresu form for the elder initiates today."

"I'm not sure a bunch of twelve and thirteen year olds will have the patience for Form Three," Anakin laughed. "I certainly didn't."

"No, my old Padawan, you most certainly did not," Obi-Wan smiled in return. "But perhaps my next one will. I do have nearly fifteen years more experience now than when I started training you."

"Your _next_ one?" Anakin turned to hold his old master's gaze as he spoke. "Obi-Wan, you aren't going to replace me, are you?"

"On the contrary, Anakin, you should be glad. Now you'll have someone to commiserate with about those dreaded Soresu forms I made you learn."

"Ha! Good point." The younger man was smiling broadly. "I think it's a fantastic idea. Do you have someone in mind?"

"No, not yet. I'm hoping I'll see some candidates in my class today."

"Whoever you choose will be a great Padawan, I am sure. Even if there's no chance they could measure up to me," Anakin said with a smirk.

"If that's what you need to tell yourself," Obi-Wan replied sarcastically. His eyes glanced over to the clock on Anakin's wall. "I really should be going. I don't think being late is a good first impression to make on someone I might be training for the foreseeable future."

"No, probably not," Anakin laughed. "Thank you for spending time with me, Obi-Wan. And for talking with me. It means a lot. Especially this week."

Obi-Wan smiled at this. "Of course, Anakin. I'll always have time for my former Padawan." The Jedi Master grabbed his cloak, went to the door and turned swiftly towards the Temple training grounds.

A few minutes later Anakin found himself sitting alone in his quarters, quietly sipping on a hot cup of caf. About twenty minutes before he needed to leave. His eyes wandered over the room. It was… well, not quite filthy, but certainly not clean. He always forgot to pick up the leftovers of his tinkering on side projects. It just took too much time to clean it all up.

Anakin sighed. He wasn't sure what to expect from the lead he and Rex were working on. All he knew was that something told him it was going to be a very, very long day.

* * *

Find the control center. Shut down the droids. Open the hangar door on the roof. Then run like she was being chased by a Rancor to the ship and get off the planet.

It was a simple enough plan, Ahsoka thought as she crawled through the metal tunnel. Of course, the simplicity was part of the problem with the plan. They didn't have all the details, so there were a lot of ways that things could go wrong. She tried not to think about that. Everything was going well so far, even if all she had done was break into the storage facility's ventilation system again.

If she remember correctly, she was going to be coming up on the control center soon. Ahsoka moved slowly, even breathed slowly, minimizing the amount of noise she made. Anything but the slightest tap on the rigid metal of the ventilation shaft would alert any guards nearby of her presence.

A light shone up ahead of her. That should be her target. Ahsoka's head inched forward, gradually coming to meet the vent opening. A grin spread across her face as she was met with the sight of the holoscreen filled room once again. There were still just two guards stationed in the room.

Now, she needed to get control of this room. That was the crux of their plan. Without it, they wouldn't be able to fly the Scimitar out of this building, much less off the planet. Not even to mention needing to make sure they didn't have to fight a battalion of droids in the process.

She had to take out the guards somehow. The blaster pistol Asajj had lent to her weighed heavily on her hip. These people worked for Dooku, she knew. They worked for the Sith. It would only be what they deserved.

Ahsoka breathed out slowly. Vengeance was not the Jedi — no, it was not _her_ way. No one had to die so that she could live.

She raised her hands up, and reached out into the Force. She could feel the two guards seated below her, their energies focused on the holoscreens in front of them. She let her instincts, honed by years of training, guide her as she quietly took ahold of each from afar. Then with a sharp clap, Ahsoka smacked her hands together. The duo in front of her simultaneously flew out of their chairs, whacking into each other midair before falling into a motionless heap on the floor.

Ahsoka dashed forward, stopping to quickly check on her victims. Slow, steady pulses. They were definitely unconscious. They were also already developing some nasty bruises on their foreheads, she noted as she tied them up with what little rope she had. Unsure of what else to do, she shoved them into a corner of the small room to keep them out of the way.

"Asajj?" Ahsoka held up her wrist comm. "Asajj, come in. Can you read me?"

" _Here. Are you in?_ " Her distinct voice crackled with static.

"I have the control room. Give me a bit to figure out how to open the door. Be ready to move."

" _Understood. Faster is better here, girl._ "

"I know, Ventress," Ahsoka stressed. "This plan is mostly my idea. And your job right now is to just sit tight, got it?"

" _Just open the hangar doors._ "

Picturing the annoyed look on Ventress' face made Ahsoka smile.

Now she had to decipher the mess of button and switches on the control panels in front of her. Fortunately some of it was marked already — there were panels labeled for security, control of the holoscreens in the room, and several other categories. The hard part was the buttons on those panels. Most of them just had letters and numbers denoting their function, which was impossible for her to know.

Her top priority was shutting down all the droids. Security was as good a place to start as any, Ahsoka figured.

She tried flipping a red switch, one of many at the top of the panel. One of the holoscreens in front of her flickered out. Nope, that wasn't what she was looking for. She flipped the switch back, and the screen came back to life.

"Wait a second," Ahsoka mumbled to herself. "How will I even know if the droids are shut off?" After all, it's not as if she innately knew if the droids were activated or not.

She looked at the holoscreens that showed the rooms holding the battle droids. Four screens in all, by her count. Maybe two hundred droids. And… _yes_! There it was. She could see the local control panel in one of the rooms. If she shut off the droids from the master switch where she was, she should be able to see the control panel switch off as well.

Ahsoka continued experimenting with various switches and buttons on the panel. She had to be careful not to do anything that would alert the guards outside, or turn on the battle droids. It was nerve-wracking business.

But soon enough, she saw the control panel go dark. A button labeled BD-3 was the winner. BD. Battle Droid. She probably should have been able to guess that one. A moment later all the BD buttons were set to off.

"Ventress, you're all set." Ahsoka glanced up to the holoscreens on the facility's roof. She couldn't see Asajj, but she was up there somewhere. "Battle droids are off, no suspicion by the guards. And all the doors on the roof should be unlocked."

" _Alright, I'm going in. Watch my back._ "

"I don't think you're going to run into any trouble. The inside of this place is deserted. Even this control room is near the entrance. No one is going to be walking back to the storage rooms."

" _Well, cover me anyway_ ," the older woman replied. " _We've only got one shot at this._ "

Her dark figure popped up on the holoscreen. Ahsoka watched as Ventress dashed to the roof entrance, silently opening it and slipping in through the door. No alarms went off — a good start.

She followed Ventress' movement on the holoscreens. The former assassin was amazingly fast when running full tilt.

Ahsoka's gaze slid up the wall, glancing at the holocams focused on the guards at either end of the facility. Everything was normal, just like the last — no, wait. Ahsoka's eyes widened. Everything was most certainly not normal. No, no, _no_. How was this possible?

" _I've found the ship_ ," her comm link flared back to life. " _It's out of energy, as expected. I saw some power cells a few doors down from here. Keep holding watch until I've got it ready to go._ "

"That's — that's great," Ahsoka stuttered in return. "But hurry, Asajj. We need to leave soon." She hesitated to tell her what she had just seen.

" _Is there something wrong, Ahsoka?"_

"Yeah, uhh," Ahsoka paused. "Anakin may be outside the entrance right now, with what seems to be about twenty clones."

" _What?! How?!_ " Ventress' voice came out as a hiss, barely containing a scream. " _Please tell me you didn't do something to lead him here._ "

"Of course I didn't! I don't know how he got here! And that doesn't really matter right now, the fact is he's here. The guards are stalling him outside for now, but that won't last long. I'm going to come help you move power cells so we can get out of here as soon as possible."

" _No, stay where you are. I can get the power cells. You need to do whatever you can from there to stop them from getting inside._ "

Ahsoka sighed. She was right, but she hated being stuck in this room. "Fine. I'll keep you updated."

She kept careful watch of the events just outside. Five of the six stationed guards were now at the front, one of them arguing intensely with Anakin. They seemed intent on keeping the Republic troops out of the facility. Probably a good idea, considering the items stored here were owned by a Separatist leader.

And now Anakin's lightsaber was out. Not lit, but him holding it was far more threatening than keeping it hooked on his belt. Ahsoka smiled faintly. Lightsaber use was almost inevitable on missions with her former master — even the peaceful ones. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the nostalgia. There were more important things at stake right now. If Anakin's saber was out, it was only a matter of minutes before he would be inside the storage facility.

How was she going to stop him? Blast doors would be no good, not against a Jedi. Alarms would be no good either. The more she thought about, the more she realized there was only one possible solution.

Chaos.

"Ventress," Ahsoka hailed her companion through her wrist comm. "Update?"

" _I've got… maybe two thirds of what we need to get into hyperspace loaded already. Closer to a half. I need a little more time._ "

"We don't have any," she replied bluntly. "I'm about to do something stupid, so I need you to go hide out for a bit and not move. Be ready to move the rest of the power cells."

" _What are you planning?_ " Ahsoka swore she heard a hint of worry in Ventress' voice. " _Oh, who cares. How will I know when to start moving cells again?_ "

"You'll know. Just be ready to run. And dodge."

Ahsoka glanced back up to the holoscreens. Anakin had just tossed the guard onto the ground. He was about to start storming to, and through, the front entrance.

This was a bad idea. For all she knew she was going to cause injury, or worse, to some of the best members of the 501st. Her own legion. Ahsoka took a deep breath. They would be fine. The 501st had dealt with far, far worse than what she was about to do and come out unscathed.

So, in one swift motion, Ahsoka activated every battle droid in the facility.

On one holoscreen, she watched as Anakin took his lightsaber and burned through the locked front door. A loud crashing noise echoed in the hallway outside her room as the doors caved in. She swiveled her head to the other side of the long array of screens. Hundreds of small lights flickered on, then began filing into the hallways.

Two miniature armies, one droid and one clone, marched through the corridors on a collision course.

Now it was time for Ahsoka to move. She had to get to Asajj and be in the air before the clones destroyed all the droids. That was their only chance of making it off Coruscant, to freedom. Speaking of, she almost forgot — the hangar doors! Ahsoka quickly flipped some switches on the panel, watching satisfactorily as the large roof doors began to slide open. _Now_ she could go.

She crept out of the control room, door hissing shut behind her. The hallway was empty, but she could hear the clomping of boots in the distance. She reached back and grabbed her blaster pistol. Chances were she would have to blast a few droids on her way.

Ahsoka continued along, moving as lightly as possible. The distinctive sounds of blasters being fired began to fill the air. Chaos had begun. She turned left, then turned right, and left again before finally coming face to face with the conflict. Four clones were pinned down at the intersection in front of her. No way to avoid them. So she dashed by, hoping they would be too distracted by the droids to notice her.

"Hey!" Nope, no such luck. She kept running, only just hearing the end of his exclamation. "I — I think that was Commander Tano!"

Great, he recognized her. Now it was just going to be that much more difficult to get to the ship.

Ahsoka ran on pure instinct. She had little idea what the layout of the facility was, so she just made turns when it felt right. The only thing she knew was she had to make her way towards the back of the warehouse to get to the Scimitar. Ahsoka raced by a few other groups of clones, some not noticing her and others calling after her. The few droids she encountered got shot down when they appeared. She turned the corner in her current hallway, and —

She stopped. One trooper, standing in her path.

"Commander Tano?" The man's blaster rifle lowered as he realized who it was in front of him.

"Rex. Hey." Ahsoka stayed crouched down, adrenaline telling her to run but uncertainty keeping her in place.

"And here I thought my men had started to see things. I would say it's good to see you, Commander, but, well, you know." He trailed off.

"It's… good to see you too, Rex. But I have to go." Both were the truth.

Ahsoka sprinted directly at Rex. The clone jerked up, not expecting her sudden aggression. Just as she was upon him she jumped, placing her hands on his shoulders to propel her forward and send him sprawling onto the ground. Rex grunted as he hit the ground with a dull clunk. Ahsoka landed gracefully, continuing her mad dash through the facility.

She turned through a nearby doorway. The rear storage room. She'd made it. Ahsoka wasn't sure until she saw the small ship parked on the other side of the room. Directly above it the hangar doors stood open, just as she had intended. A small smile crept over her face. Their plan was working.

"Ahsoka!" A voice called out, relatively far away.

Her name reverberated in her ears. She froze, her mind racing. She'd been hoping to avoid him.

"Ahsoka, wait!" He was getting closer.

She bolted. Away from Anakin, and away from the Scimitar. She had to lead him away from the ship. They needed more time to load it with power cells, and she couldn't risk letting him stop Ventress.

Ahsoka ducked through the aisles of shelves and boxes filling the huge chamber. Fortunately most of the clones were still stuck in the hallways battling the droids, so she didn't meet any resistance in her path. She paid little attention to where she was going. Ahsoka was just trying to stay ahead of the pair of feet she could hear following her every move.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin was getting closer. Kriff. Ahsoka put everything she had into her legs, sprinting down a passage to the right and found herself skidding to a stop. A dead end. _Kriff_.

Ahsoka unholstered her blaster. She backed up against the far wall, turning to face her pursuer. Slowly, she raised the pistol out in front of her. No chances.

The footsteps grew louder. He was nearly there.

"Ahs—" Anakin started, cut off when he saw the blaster pointed at him. His arms whipped out, instinctively igniting his lightsaber into a defensive position between them. "I just want to talk, Ahsoka. There's no need for weapons."

"Oh, of course not," her voice trembled slightly as she first spoke. "You're here to talk, just like Master Koon was." She paused. "How did you know we were here?"

"I didn't," Anakin stressed. "I heard that Ventress had asked about this place. The rest was just… the will of the Force, I guess."

Ahsoka snorted in laughter at that. "The will of the Force. Right. Since when was General Skywalker one to believe in that?"

"Maybe since my Padawan managed to escape the Republic's eye on it's capital planet, and devise what I assume is an escape plan that seems to be working." Ahsoka could almost see a smirk on his face. The cocky bastard.

"You sound impressed," she shot back.

"Oh, I am."

"Does that mean you're going to let me go?"

"I — I haven't decided yet." There was no trace of that smile anymore. "I need some questions answered first."

Ahsoka's eyes narrowed at him. "So you think I bombed the Temple too." She did her best to hide the crestfallen that made her feel.

"Are you kidding me, Ahsoka? Of course I don't! I believe you, Snips. Always."

His gaze was intense, like when he was piloting one of his reckless maneuvers. Or like when he looked at Padmé. Ahsoka shivered on the inside. Now _that_ was an uncomfortable thought.

"But I need evidence if I'm going to clear your name," he continued. "Something to explain all of this."

"Alright," Ahsoka replied slowly. "Ask away then."

He withdrew his lightsaber, taking a more causal stance across from her. "Why Ventress?"

Ah. She should've known that one was coming.

"She captured me." She saw the confusion begin to spread on his face. "But I bargained for her help instead."

"What could you have to offer her?" Anakin prodded. "No offense."

"I offered freedom. She's a target of both the Republic and the Separatists. Getting even one of those off her back would be everything to her." Ahsoka lowered her blaster back down to her side. "I thought I could get her actions pardoned, with her no longer being manipulated by Dooku."

"The Council would never have approved that. Certainly not right now." Anakin paused. Ahsoka already knew as much. "But you must find it suspicious that Ventress knew which warehouse the nano-droids were being kept in, Snips. How could she know if she wasn't involved?"

"What?" She gave him a quizzical look. "Ventress didn't know where they were. I found out from…"

And then something clicked in Ahsoka's mind. No. It couldn't be. Ahsoka stumbled backwards, leaning her weight against the wall behind her. It was impossible. But it explained so much.

"Ahsoka?" The Jedi Knight's voice brought her back to reality. A muted explosion echoed in the storage room. "You okay?"

" _Barriss_." Anger was welling up inside her. She could barely get the name out. "I found out from Barriss, over a public holograph. She was the one who knew where the nano-droids were. She led me there. That traitor framed me!" Her voice was beginning to rise to a yell. Control your emotions, Tano.

"Wait, you mean Master Unduli's Padawan? She did this? But I thought…" Anakin gave her a meaningful look. "I know you knew her."

"I thought I did," Ahsoka said bitterly. "Apparently not. She led me to the droids, then attacked to stall me until I could be arrested."

"The fourth lightsaber." Then Anakin began to understand. "You and her fought."

The former Padawan nodded. "I knew my assailant's saber form seemed familiar. But I couldn't pin it down. Not until now." A pregnant pause. "Barriss had this whole thing planned out. And if it weren't for Asajj, I'd have been executed by the Republic as a result."

"And it would have been me who put you under their sword," Anakin said after a pause. "I'm so sorry. I… I failed you, Ahsoka. But I will find Barriss, and I _will_ clear your name. I promise you that."

"You were just doing what you thought was right. You trusted the Republic. I can't be mad at you for that."

"You always have been more forgiving than I am, Snips," he replied. "I guess that's why you can work with Ventress."

Ahsoka guessed he couldn't bring himself to voice his gratefulness for the former Sith assassin he had battled so many times. She could still barely believe it. Barriss Offee tried to kill her, and Asajj Ventress was the one who saved her.

Speaking of, Ahsoka needed to get to Asajj. They had to be out of there before more clones and droids appeared and began shooting up the storage room.

"It's time for me to go, Anakin." She wished she didn't have to.

He gave her a hard stare before replying. "You're right. But first, shoot me."

"What?!"

"Here." He held out his right hand, his lightsaber in its grip. "Shoot my wrist. It needs to look real. I can say I was taken by surprise, that you disarmed me by shooting off my prosthetic. Besides, I could use an upgrade. I hear the new models can go weeks without refurbishment."

Ahsoka eyed him. "I don't think the Council will buy that. You may frustrate them, but they know you're a great warrior. You don't get caught off guard easily."

"The Council can bite me. It's believable enough."

She couldn't help but laugh at that. He never changed. "I'm going to miss you."

"I know." He had a sad smile on his face. "Now come on, shoot me already. We haven't got all day."

Ahsoka raised her blaster once more, taking careful aim. She glanced back up to her former master. He gave her a curt nod. She curled in her finger, pulling the trigger in a time that felt far longer than it was.

Then in an instant, Anakin's hand exploded in a shower of sparks and Ahsoka was sprinting past him. There was no time to waste, as he had said. She felt guilty, but knew he would be fine. Technically she hadn't even injured him.

Soon Ahsoka was back in the main opening of the room. Blaster fire was echoing from the hallways just outside the main entryway. The battle was almost here. She was cutting this really, really close.

The Scimitar came into view. It was quite a ship, but she would have time to admire it later. She dashed up the entry ramp, coming into a dark circular room.

"Asajj!" Ahsoka's voice called out. "Are you in here?"

"In the cockpit!" Her voice was muffled, echoing off the metal walls from above. "There's a lift, to your right!"

Indeed there was. Moments later Ahsoka was in an identical room as below, but lined with chairs rather than storage compartments. She joined with Asajj at the front in the cramped helm space. Clearly it was built for one pilot.

"Do you even know how to fly this thing?" Ahsoka asked her.

"We'll find out in a moment." Asajj's hands were flying across the control panel, adjusting knobs and flipping switches.

The younger girl began to see the familiar pattern emerge as she watched Ventress work. The ship was different, but it was still a ship. Doing what she could to help, Ahsoka reached above her and hit a few switches herself. There was a satisfying thunk as the ramp closed beneath them.

"Good." The bounty hunter's hands stilled, coming to rest on the steering mechanism. "I think we're ready for takeoff."

A loud bang. The pair watched as droids and clones streamed in through the now-demolished entrance, blaster bolts criss crossing the room.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Ahsoka exclaimed. "Go, go!"

The ship lurched up off the ground, forcing her to steady herself against Asajj's chair. They rose, painstakingly slowly as blue lasers fired up around the ship. The shielding was holding, for now.

"A little more… a little more…" Ventress was muttering to herself. "There we go!" She jerked a lever forwards as soon as they cleared the roof, and the ship shot ahead in response.

Ahsoka couldn't believe it. They had done it. They had stolen the Scimitar. But now came the hard part — getting off Coruscant. For the moment they were fine, flying in the air lane of the relatively large level 1327. But a ship like the Scimitar would be very noticeable on the surface, especially after Anakin's platoon called in their escape.

"Ahsoka," Asajj tilted her heads towards the girl, keeping her eyes trained in front of her as they flew. "The cloaking device needs to be activated. It's in the cargo hold, up front."

"On it."

"Hurry. We'll be at the transportation shaft in, maybe ten minutes. And not much longer before we start attracting company."

The lower level of the Scimitar was still dark. Ahsoka was going to have to figure out how to turn the lights on down here eventually. About ten paces from the lift she came to a door stamped with the word CARGO. Looked like that was about all there was to this ship. A cockpit, a hallway and storage space. The Sith just had no idea how to make a ship comfortable.

The cargo hold looked no different from the rest of the ship. Dark metal, cold and empty. Well, almost empty. In the center of the room sat a cylindrical contraption, nearly as high as Ahsoka's waist and just as wide. The cloaking device. Fortunately it looked to be fairly similar to the designs Anakin had shown her before.

Ahsoka crouched down to face the control panel on the cylinder's side. A screen, small keypad and two switches, one red and one green. The red switch primed the machine and the green one activated it. Relatively simple for a device that was going to save her life.

She flipped the red switch. Nothing happened. No lights, no sounds. Ahsoka frantically flicked the switch up and down, desperately praying for something to happen. They could _not_ have gotten this far just for this stupid ship to not work.

Her hand slipped, pushing the green switch into its on position. The whole machine suddenly lit up, an ethereal blue glow emanating from the cooling vents. Words began to crawl across the control panel's screen.

 **INITIATING CRYSTAL MATRIX PRIMING. ESTIMATED TIME REMAINING… 5 MIN**

Ahsoka let out a deep breath. Thank the Force she just had a bad memory.

"Device is on," Ahsoka hailed Ventress over her wrist comm. "Should be five minutes until the actual cloaking activates."

" _Good. We're all clear still, for now. About to enter the transportation shaft. Stay down there until that thing turns on completely._ "

The counter went down to four minutes. Ahsoka sat down by the door, attempting to use the familiar meditation position to gain some calm. She felt like all of her senses were dialed to one hundred. Like she could hear every whirr from the machine in front of her, feel every pulse of her companion's life force above her. Deep breath in, deep breath out. They could do this.

Three minutes. The ship lurched suddenly, slamming Ahsoka's back against the wall. They must be at the transportation shaft. Ventress certainly wasn't trying to look inconspicuous, if they were flying as fast as it felt.

"Everything alright?" Two minutes left.

" _Just a few underworld police on our tails. Got lucky and took them by surprise. How much longer?_ "

The screen ticked down again as if on cue. "One minute."

" _This thing had better work._ "

Now there was an understatement. Thirty seconds left. Twenty seconds. Ahsoka reached forward, flipping the red switch back to the on position. Ten seconds. And…

 **PRIMING COMPLETE. CLOAK ENGAGED.**

An audible click came from the machine. Then, nothing. The device just kept whirring, kept glowing the same blue color. Ahsoka bit her lip. Was it working?

"Yes!" Asajj's shout echoed down, followed by a uncharacteristically loud laugh. Ahsoka grinned. That could only mean one thing.

She ran back down the corridor, hopping up the lift and back into the cockpit. Ahsoka looked out over Ventress' shoulder. They were on Coruscant's surface, gradually climbing higher and higher among the skyscrapers as they swerved to avoid crashing into any unaware ships.

"We lost the police cruisers?" Ahsoka's hopeful question broke the silence.

"Oh yes. This thing works perfectly." The woman slapped her hand against the machine in front of her. "We are completely invisible to this entire planet."

"Great." Ahsoka stayed silent for a moment. They were above the buildings now, just flying up into the sky all alone. A thought crossed the Togruta girl's mind. "You do know we're going to have to disable the cloak in order to jump to hyperspace."

Asajj turned to give her a look of shock. Apparently she hadn't known.

"The device draws on the same power source as the hyperdrive," Ahsoka explained. "We have to reroute the power before jumping."

"Hmm." Ventress furrowed her brow. "I only managed to get us enough sublight power cells to make it just past the planet's defensive perimeter. But if we can get to hyperspace, we have enough power to get to the Corellia shipyards and stock up on whatever we need."

"I can do the rerouting from here. It should only take a minute or two." Ahsoka began prepping the power channels from the helm. It was all she could do without shutting of the cloak entirely.

Soon they were out of the Coruscant atmosphere. Hundreds of ships flew above them, from the smallest transports to the largest battleships. Each a piece of the puzzle that kept the trillions of people below safe and healthy. And in their midst, two fugitives in an invisible vessel slowly making their way through the organized chaos.

Ahsoka held her breath involuntarily as they inched past the final line of ships. They were actually making it off the planet.

"And…" Ventress pulled back on the sublight control. "That's it. This is as far as we can go without using the power we need to jump to Corellia."

"Transferring power now." They weren't as far away from the blockade as Ahsoka had hoped. But it would have to be good enough.

She watched the control screen, as the power bar for the cloaking device gradually went to zero. The ship's recalibration of the energy to the hyperdrive was painstakingly slow.

" _Courier vessel, identify yourself._ " A voice crackled in through the ships communication.

"Uh, this is Courier vessel," Asajj fumbled with the control. Ahsoka's eyes flitted back and forth from her companion to the control screen. Halfway there.

" _Your ship is not authorized to be in this sector. State your purpose._ "

"We had a hyperdrive malfunction that forced us to pull off here. We'll be leaving in a moment once it's fixed." Well, that was mostly true.

" _A ship is on its way to you, to confirm and assist."_

Kriff. Ahsoka glanced at the panel again. Almost there…

"That's really not necessary," the Dathomirian woman scrambled. "We have this under cont—"

"Now, Asajj, jump now!"

Maybe she shouldn't have yelled that. Oh well.

Ventress got the message. She immediately stopped talking and threw the hyperdrive control lever forward.

A grin spread over Ahsoka's face as the stars lengthened into familiar streaks. "We did it. I don't believe it. We did it."

"I'll feel better once we get to the Outer Rim," Asajj contended. "Corellia is still Republic space."

"You can brood if you like." Ahsoka stood up tall, stretching her arms out above her. "I'm going to enjoy my freedom, for however long I have it."

* * *

Arael hefted the tray full of food onto her shoulder. The banquet was about to begin. It was a small event, as was usual for the dinner meetings the officers held. She'd heard rumors that this one was for some new person transferring to this base. She didn't much care. Her job was to serve food. Tonight, she was charged to serve the three chairs at the head of the table.

It had been four years since she first began working the kitchens. It was monotonous work, but she worked hard at it nevertheless. As her father had told her a thousand times — she needed to make herself indispensable if she wanted to avoid factory work.

She rolled out of the kitchen doors, keeping the tray balanced on her shoulder as she had done so many times before. There was just the one table set up in the hall today. Fifteen blue-skinned persons were seated around it, conversing among themselves. Only the higher ranking officers, by their uniforms. The rumors were probably true then.

Arael stopped at her assigned location. Without a word, as always, she carefully placed the plates of steaming food in front of the three. And now, as always, she would stand silently just behind them should they need anything.

"Hello there. What's your name?" The man at the head of the table addressed her as she laid down his dish.

Arael froze for a moment, unsure what to do. He had broken the barrier that existed between the server and the Ruler. She didn't recognize him. He wasn't too old. Maybe he was the new officer. Did they do things differently at other bases?

"I'm, um, I'm Arael, sir," she stammered. She noticed some of the other officers giving them curious looks. She gave a small bow, rather awkwardly with the tray still on her shoulder. "At your service."

The man guffawed, clearly amused about something the now anxious Zabrak girl had said.

"A girl like this, at my service. How lucky am I?"

The rest of the table joined in with his laughter. Arael blushed, her burnt yellow skin becoming closer to orange. But she dared not say anything. She wasn't an idiot. The laughter died down soon enough, and the conversations started up again.

Dinner went on. Arael stood in her spot, refilling plates and glasses as needed. The man at the head of the table — the one who had joked at her expense — was the new officer, who had just transferred. Colonel Wentik. She gathered this was something of a welcome party for him.

It was after the event, when all the officers were gone and she was helping clean the table, that Chef Pava approached her. Arael's presence was requested by the new Colonel. Deep breaths. She had known this moment was coming, eventually. It was relatively common for officers to take servants, female and male, to their rooms after these private dinner events. And she was just coming into the age for whom this usually happened.

The Colonel was waiting just outside the dining hall. He stood very straight, hands clasped behind his back. His rank of command was obvious, even without seeing his badge.

Arael walked up to him. She kept her gaze low, unsure how to address him.

"It's Arael, isn't it?" His voice was calm, kept very steady.

She nodded.

"You may call me Wentik. My apologies for embarrassing you earlier. But crudeness was the easiest way to put my men at ease. Considering my reputation, that is."

She finally looked up at him. He wasn't making any sense.

"I suppose you don't get apologies from one of us very often," the Colonel hummed. "Perhaps never. But, now you understand my position. I am deemed by many as too soft, or as a heretic. It does not bother me. But I cannot let it persist under my command. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Arael nodded. She scratched her hand against her temple's horn. "I think so."

"She speaks at last," he replied, a smirk on his face. "Wonderful. Walk with me."

She fell in step by his side, just slightly behind him. They walked in silence, every so often passing a troop under Wentik's new command. They went deeper into the compound than Arael had ever been. The stark white hallways were totally unfamiliar to her. She was fairly sure this wasn't the route to the residential section. So where was he taking her?

He turned to a door off the main route, leading them down a much narrower hallway. It made the white of the walls that much more oppressive. Small doors lined the walls at very regular intervals. Something here felt different to her. She couldn't pinpoint the sensation. Arael had never felt anything quite like it before.

The Colonel continued to stride forward, his gaze fixed ahead. She wondered if he felt the same thing she did.

The feeling grew stronger. There was something up ahead, and they were getting closer to it. She couldn't tell you how she knew. It was like her mind was taking its first breath, using a pair of organs she hadn't even known existed…

"You've stopped walking, Arael."

Colonel Wentik's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She had indeed stopped walking, and had turned to face one of the many identical doors in the hallway.

"I—I'm sorry, sir. I hadn't realized." She felt like she should be afraid, but she wasn't. Wentik certainly didn't seem mad.

"Why did you stop?" he questioned. He still stood straight, hands still behind his back.

"I'm not sure." She turned back to the door. "What's in here?"

"Interesting. Most interesting." He didn't answer her question. "I knew I sensed something different about you. Come." He kept walking.

Arael tore her concentration away, and followed. The strange feeling diminished as they walked away. That door… it contained something.

Eventually they came to a small room. Not a bedroom. All the room had was a large desk, a couch and a few chairs. An office? It had brown walls, a welcome change from the white hallways.

"Take a seat." Wentik gestured generally to the room.

She did so in the nearest chair. He pulled up another in front of her, seating himself in it. Arael fidgeted, scooting back in her chair unconsciously. Being this close to a Ruler was unsettling.

"Now, Arael, I must warn you. What I am about to do will feel strange to you. I do not think it will cause you any pain, though I cannot be sure. It will probably be similar to what you felt in the hallway."

She stared at him. "You felt…"

"Yes. Now, close your eyes. This should only take a moment."

He raised his hands to her head. Arael flinched involuntarily, holding her head stiffly. He placed his blue fingers against her forehead and temple, carefully avoiding her horns, and closed his eyes.

The same feeling overtook Arael as in the hallway, but a hundred times stronger. Familiar images flitted across her vision unbidden. Cleaning a particularly nasty pan that had been left in the oven too long. Feasting on double rations with her parents in celebration after she had been chosen to work in the kitchen. Artep lying motionless in the pool of blood. Her clutching tightly onto her mother's leg as a child.

"Incredible." The images stopped, and Wentik's hands withdrew from her forehead. "You certainly are Connected. It should be impossible, yet here you are."

"What do you mean, connected?" Arael asked, hesitantly. She hoped it wasn't a bad thing.

"You'll find out, soon enough." He had his hands folded under his chin now, still staring at her. "I have some good news and bad news for you. The good news: you've been promoted, effectively immediately. You are now my personal assistant. Congratulations."

He didn't say it as if it was something to celebrate. "And the bad?"

"I cannot let you leave the base."

"What?" What had she done wrong? She wasn't a threat to anyone. "But… my parents, they…"

"They will be provided for. Neither will work another day in the factories, I promise you." Wentik stood, moving to lean against the desk. "You can stay here for tonight. I'll arrange something more permanent tomorrow." He paused. "I am sorry, Arael, but I cannot give you a choice in this."

And so Arael was left alone in the room. She could have slept in the couch, but she was not tired. She could have tried to run, but she did not want to die. She just sat in her chair, and stared at the floor.

Her parents would be out of the factories. Maybe this could be a good thing.


	4. We All Need Some Luck

**A/N:**

 **This chapter took way longer for me to write than it should have. Sorry that it is kinda short - this chapter is a bridge of sorts.**

 **A big thank you to all you readers! Every review, favorite, follow, and view gives me that much more motivation. You're all great. Now, on to the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:**

 **We All Need Some Luck**

* * *

This looked like the one Wolffe had told him about. At the intersection of 12th and G. Anakin certainly would not have been able to find this on his own. There were simply too many holo-booths on any level of Coruscant for him to have found Ahsoka's call through brute force. Even knowing which terminal she had used, and what day, there were nearly twenty calls he would have to parse through.

"Find anything new, Rex?" Anakin looked up, taking a break from the monotonous staring at the screen in front of him. He and a few of his troops had been scouring the Coruscant databanks for hours, looking for any information that would help their investigation.

Rex stood up from the clone whose shoulder he had been hunched over, and walked over to his General. "The nano-droids definitely came from the Separatists, sir. We can't determine who the exact owner was prior to their being shipped to Coruscant, but we've traced their origin back to Mechis III."

"The Mechis system… That's one of the innermost Separatist systems, isn't it?" Anakin pondered. "The Republic has eyes on that system. They should have been able to catch those droids." He paused. If the Separatists were able to hide something like this on a system as close to the Core as Mechis, he shuddered to think what could be hidden in their Outer Rim territories. "Have you found anything on Offee?"

"Only that she did access Coruscant shipping records that day, sir. Whatever she found appears to have been erased from the memory banks."

"Of course it has been," the Jedi sighed. "I'll have that holo-transmission up in a few minutes, I think. Hopefully that will provide some answers."

He had to go through several different calls before he found the right one. It was fortunate Wolffe had remembered the terminal location correctly.

Two familiar faces came to life on the screen in front of him. In unison, anger and sorrow flared to life within Anakin. Maybe this transmission could finally provide the proof he needed.

He played the recording once Rex was back at his side.

" _It's so good to see you, Ahsoka. Are you okay?"_

 _"Yeah, I'm okay. If you consider Anakin and a hundred clones on my tail a good space to be in."_

" _You were almost captured?_ "

" _Once or twice, yeah."_

 _"Where are you?"_

 _"I can't say, Barriss."_

Anakin narrowed his eyes. Why would Barriss need to know where Ahsoka was? Yet, as the transmission continued, she got his former Padawan to spill.

" _Three levels up there seems to be an abandoned warehouse where they stored munitions that Letta visited during the time she was getting access to the nano-droids."_

 _"How did you find this out?"_

The call ended with Barriss giving the vague explanation of her doing 'some checking'.

"Thoughts, Rex?"

"It's enough to instill a reasonable doubt on Commander Tano's guiltiness, sir." Rex paused. "But I'm not sure it's proof of her innocence either."

"It's enough for me. We'll have to see if the Council agrees," Anakin replied. "Keep searching the databanks, Rex. Comm me if you find anything at all, regardless of whether it seems to help Ahsoka or not. I'm going to go back to the Temple and start putting together what we have to present it to the Council."

"Aye, sir. And we'll check the databanks on the 1315 warehouse, to see if there's a reason in the records that Offee told Commander Tano that the warehouse was abandoned."

"Good idea. Keep me informed."

"Best of luck, sir."

Anakin nodded to him in return. "We all need some luck nowadays, Rex."

* * *

"You _would_ pick this cantina."

"What? It's full of people, it's out of the way. No one will notice us here."

"Yeah, but it's so… dingy," Ahsoka cringed as she glanced around the establishment from their booth.

This was their first stop since leaving from Corellia nearly a day earlier. They were on Eriadu, just beyond the Mid Rim. At the moment their escape had led them to a, well, _typical_ Outer Rim cantina.

"Oh, my sincerest apologies, princess," Asajj drawled across from her. "Grow a pair. You've been in worse places."

"Not by choice, usually," the Togruta grumbled.

"Good thing you're a free woman now." Ventress took a deep swig from her glass. "Relatively. You still owe me for hiding you and getting you off Coruscant."

"I— That's—" Ahsoka stuttered. "Ridiculous! I helped you get the Scimitar, didn't I? That's more than worth whatever bounty you lost out on by not turning—"

She was cut off by a grey hand clamping across her mouth.

"Hey! Shut it, tailhead. You'll get us killed announcing things like that."

"And you'll get yourself killed calling me that," Ahsoka growled, slapping Ventress' hand off her mouth. "You're lucky I still don't have a lightsaber."

Asajj grunted. "You'll need some luck to get one. Kyber crystals are damn near impossible to find even when there _isn't_ a war between the Jedi and Sith rampaging the galaxy."

Ahsoka continued to glower at her companion, opting not to respond. Asajj was right, she knew, about the crystals. She had only ever seen them on Ilum or in the Temple. Never being traded out in the open.

"Besides, let's say you did find one. It would cost you a fortune that you don't have," the older woman continued. "Which brings me back to my original point. Even if the Scimitar covers what you owe me — which, well, maybe — you still don't have any money."

"Neither do you," Ahsoka countered. Asajj rolled her eyes in response.

"That's what I'm saying, kid. We both need money. You especially, because I won't be your personal ferry across the galaxy forever. And I know how we can get some."

"No." Ahsoka crossed her arms. "I told you already, I am not going to be a bounty hunter."

Asajj groaned. "Quit being such a… such a _Jedi_ , Ahsoka. The world isn't so black and white as you think."

"Then maybe I just don't want to work with you, Ventress. Ever think of that?"

"Alright, fine. I can get work on my own," the older woman threw up her hands in exasperation. "I'll just leave you here on Eriadu, then. I'm sure you can find work in the Lommite mines. I hear the conditions have really improved — only four deaths in an average week these days."

Ahsoka's nostrils flared. She hated how easy it was for Asajj to get under her skin. She hated that she didn't have a lightsaber. She hated that she was stuck in the Outer Rim. But most of all, she hated that she didn't have a whole lot of options right now.

"One job." Ahsoka held up her finger in emphasis. "One bounty to get us set, then I'm out."

Asajj smirked. "One job it is. Now, the real reason I chose this cantina is because it has a terminal that I can connect to the Guild's network from, and get us a target."

The former Jedi gave the woman a glare as she got up from the booth and crossed the room to the cantina's computer. The lying sleemo. She'd planned this whole thing out, knowing that Ahsoka wouldn't have any other options.

Ahsoka sighed, and drained the glass in front of her. So, for maybe a week, she would be a bounty hunter. But after that, what was she going to do? Even if she had money, she had no idea where to go. Instinct told her to head for Naboo, or Pantora, and see if she could get help from her non-Jedi friends. But those were both Republic systems. Being with a public figure like Padmé or Riyo would end with her getting arrested in a heartbeat. All of her friends were in the Republic, Ahsoka realized. Going to any of them would inevitably lead to her being found, eventually.

What was she going to do?

* * *

 _A crowd gathered in the town square. Not the largest this town had ever seen, but a good amount of people always came out for a flogging. In the center of the crowd was a large stone platform raising to near shoulder height in the center of the plaza. On this stage stood two men. One holding rope, while the other was bound by it. One Chiss, one Zabrak. The audience was focused intently on these two, though both had yet to move._

 _It was at the front, just a few feet from the edge of the platform, that Arael found herself. On her right was a child, a distraught young girl clinging to her mother's leg. To her left stood a taller man, his blue skin standing out against the yellower tones that dominated the crowd._

 _"Again? Really?" the man drawled._

 _"It's not as if I want to keep reliving this." Arael glanced to her side. It would be another minute or so before the girl started crying._

 _"Perhaps. But there must be some part of you that is holding on to this."_

 _"As if I didn't already know that from the last dozen times you told me, Wentik."_

 _"Apparently you don't, as we're still stuck here."_

 _The cries of the young girl at her side began, at the same moment as every other time._

 _Wentik continued, "You know, for as many times as we have been here, I'm always impressed by the volume you were able to achieve as a child."_

 _Arael stayed silent. She was not going to let him make light of what they were observing. Even if he couldn't understand it like she did, he should respect it._

 _"Sorry." At least Wentik was smart enough to own his mistakes. "I would ask if you wanted to leave but… well, you know."_

 _"Yes." Exiting from within a vision was impossible. They had tried._

 _So they would watch. Twenty-six lashes. Two for each unit her father had made wrong. And throughout the whole affair, the square would be silent save for a cracking whip, screams of pain, and the sobs of a young girl who didn't yet understand how her world worked._

Arael's eyes snapped open. The vision was over. She was back in the lab. Still sitting across from Wentik, the Cube still floating between them under their combined power.

The first time she'd had to relive this, Arael had broken down. The sixth time, it had taken all her strength to hold back her tears. Now, after she had long lost count, she had no troubles keeping her emotions in check.

Her attention came back to the present as Wentik took full control of the Cube, floating it up to the perch where it was stored under lock and key.

"I don't mean to sound insensitive," he said, "but we need to find a way to get over this mental block. It's been months since we've made any significant progress. My superiors are getting impatient."

"I know," Arael responded curtly.

"They've invested a huge amount into my work. You know there are only two of these Cubes in the Ascendancy. And they're already skeptical of using one on a non-Chiss. They only agreed to it because it wasn't — isn't — approved for trials on citizens yet. If we aren't making progress to prove these Cubes can significantly amplify your connection, they'll shut us down in an—"

"I said _I know_ , Wentik." She glared at him. "I've got just as much incentive to keep this running as you do." More, probably. "Even if I didn't, you aren't exactly hiding your emotions from me."

"I know, it's just…" He swore. "It's just so _frustrating_."

Arael agreed. It was incredibly frustrating. If she didn't figure out how to get past this, they would get shut down. Wentik would be reassigned. She would probably be locked away or executed. And her parents would be taken off of government protection and be forced back into factory work. She couldn't let that happen.

* * *

The evening air was crisp and cool, just like on most nights. The slight breeze brought a cold that nipped at Arael's bare arms.

One benefit to her official position as a personal assistant to an officer as high ranking as Wentik was the great quarters. The balcony railing she stood at now was fifteen floors off the ground, overlooking the residential area. Thousands, maybe millions, of small lights dotted the landscape.

If you ignored the slavery, the city really was beautiful.

But tonight, what held Arael's interest wasn't the lights below, but those above. The stars. She knew that people travelled in space, moving from one speck of light to the other. She had seen ships taking off from the very base she lived in to make those journeys.

The door creaked open behind her.

"I brought you some tea," Wentik offered as leaned on the railing by her side. She thanked him and took the mug from his hand. The heat of the drink felt nice against her cold fingers. Arael sipped at the tea, feeling the warmth spread throughout her body. She leaned into the companion at her side, gently resting her horned head onto his shoulder.

The stars above them continued to shimmer, as enticing as ever.

"What is it like out there?"

"Hm? Out where?" Wentik tilted his head towards her.

"Out there," Arael gestured vaguely upward. "In outer space. You've been there before, right?"

"Yes, a few times," he answered. His gaze turned upwards, where hers was fixed. "What do you want to know?"

She shrugged. "Anything."

"Oh, I need more help than that."

"Fine," she groaned lightheartedly. "How many planets are there?"

"I don't think anyone knows the answer to that," he laughed. "For every star we can see here, there are thousands more we can't see. It's in the billions for the entire galaxy."

Arael's eyes widened in amazement. She couldn't even hope to count all the stars in the sky. How could that only be a minuscule fraction of the galaxy?

"The galaxy must be huge," she echoed.

"It is," he confirmed. "Huge, and full of life. Though to be fair, I've never been outside of the Ascendancy."

"At least you've been off the planet," she reprimanded. "I wish I could be out there. Traveling among the stars, seeing everything the galaxy has to offer."

"Who knows. Maybe you will see it all, someday."

Arael certainly hoped so. She didn't want her entire life to be spent like it was now.

* * *

Anakin's head landed on the grass with a thud. He groaned, reaching up to slide his hands across his face. Or hand, rather. He still hadn't replaced his prosthetic after Ahsoka blew it off.

His meeting with the Council that morning had gone just about as well as he had expected.

 _How did you find this transmission?_ With the best troopers and a little luck, Master Windu. _Still, the evidence is entirely circumstantial, Knight Skywalker._ Perhaps, Master Mundi, but it's enough to provide a reasonable doubt on Ahsoka's guilt. _Incriminated Padawan Offee, you have not. Much more evidence against Padawan Tano, there is. But revealed more, you have. Investigate Master Unduli's apprentice upon their return, we shall._ Yes, Master Yoda.

Of course Barriss was off planet. Either the Mirialan girl was extraordinarily lucky, or she had a plan for every possibility. In which case, the chances of her being caught were very slim.

"Thinking, are you?"

The Knight in question removed his hand from his face, bolting upright as he saw the Grandmaster in front of him. "Master Yoda! Sorry, I didn't sense you coming."

"Understand, I do. Much on your mind, you have." The shorter man walked closer to him, taking a seat at a rock by his side.

"Was there something I could help you with?" Anakin pulled his legs in, assuming a more respectful cross-legged pose.

"No, no," Yoda croaked. "News for you, I have."

The Grandmaster paused. Anakin had a feeling that this news, whatever it was, wouldn't be good.

"To Togoria, Master Unduli and her Padawan were sent."

"Yes, Master, I know. That's what you said during my report today." Anakin spoke slowly, trying not to sound impatient. His apprehension grew with every second. "Master Windu said that they were going to assist the growing Togorian resistance against the Separatist occupation."

"Yes." Another pause. "But ambushed, they were. Stronger in numbers than we knew, the Separatists were."

"They… they were killed, weren't they?" Anakin spoke softly. "You wouldn't be telling me this if they survived."

"Killed, the entire battalion nearly was. Send a transmission, a survivor did. His Jedi Commanders die, he saw," Yoda spoke gravely.

"So that's it then," Anakin choked. He let his head drop slightly. "I'm… I'm sorry to hear of Master Unduli's death."

"As are we all," Yoda replied. His gaze focused in on Anakin, the wrinkles around his eyes creasing in thought. "Harbor anger against Padawan Offee, you must not. Know her guilt, we do not. And know her innocence, we do not. Trust in the Force, we must."

"Yes, Master Yoda. I know. Anger is the path to the Dark Side, and all that." He let out a deep breath. "I just need some time, is all. This hasn't been an easy week for me."

"Understand, I do."

Anakin gave him a strange look. With anyone else, he might have allowed his own frustrations to overcome him. How could Yoda, the archetypical Jedi Master, and one of those who essentially expelled Ahsoka from the Order, possibly understand how he was feeling?

The green skinned man rested his chin atop his cane, looking pensively at the younger Knight. "Years ago, a Padawan I had. Smart, brave, powerful he was. A great Knight, he became. But Dooku left our ways of the Force. Corrupted by Sidious, he was." His eyes closed, a slight downward curl forming on his lips. "Now a Sith, my Padawan is."

"I'm… I'm sorry, Master Yoda. I forget, sometimes, that Count Dooku was your Padawan." He'd never considered how Dooku's turn to the Dark Side had affected the seemingly impervious Grandmaster.

"Yes. Long before you were born, my Padawan he was." Yoda hummed in thought. "But like him, Ahsoka is not. Attracted to power, she is not. But lost, she is. Lost, are _you_." A sharp rap on Anakin's arm with his cane emphasized his point. "Meditate, you must. Listen to the Force. Do this, I will as well. Understand why this happened in this way, we must."

Anakin nodded in silent agreement. He wasn't sure any amount of meditation could sort out the confusing torrent of emotions within him.

"Some time, you shall have." The Grandmaster rapped his cane against the rock he sat on. "In three days, a security detail duty you have. Free you are, until then."

"Understood, Master." It made sense to give him a less stressful mission right after this past week. They had to make sure he was ready before sending him into field duty. "If I may, who or what exactly am I going to be providing security for?"

"To the Outer Rim, the Naboo Senator is going. More security than her planet can provide, she needs. Friends, you both are, hm?"

"Yes," the Knight replied with a small grin. He scratched the back of his neck unconsciously. "We are friends. It'll be nice to see her again. Thank you, Master."

Anakin swore he could see the ghost of a smile on Grandmaster Yoda's lips.

* * *

"So, what do you think? Will it work?"

"Uh…" Anakin slid his gaze over to his wife, who was standing a few feet away from where he was laid out on a long couch. She'd just spent the last five minutes explaining her plan to get the government of Elrood to rejoin the Republic. Or maybe it had been ten minutes?

"You know diplomacy isn't really my strong suit, Padmé. Your plans are always good. If you think it will work, I'm sure it will."

"It needs to," she frowned at him. "Elrood has never been as strongly attached to the Confederacy as most of the other planets that seceded. Their ships would be a huge help for the Republic."

"Alright, enough work. How about this," Anakin shifted so he could better face Padmé. "Let's worry about the negotiations once we get there. It'll be hours until we even make it to the Outer Rim, and a few more to the Elrood Sector."

"And until then?" A small smirk grew on the Senator's features.

"Well, you're in your private quarters with your husband, and the only other people on board are security and ship personnel who have no reason to bother you." He smiled coyly at her. "I can think of a couple things we could do."

"Is that so," she purred back at him. "Care to enlighten me, Master Jedi?"

She set herself on the couch on all fours, and began to crawl slowly towards him. Her figure swayed seductively, entrancing Anakin's gaze. For every inch the gap between them lessened, his chest beat that much harder.

Force, Padmé was beautiful.

"I…"

Before he could finish, she was upon him. Their bodies collided in a burst of passion, and all other thoughts were gone. In that moment they released every trace of frustration, of love, of longing pent up from the months they were forced to spend apart.

It was bliss.

Eventually the pair did come down from their high. They laid in each others arms, the steady rhythm of their deep breathing providing a backdrop for their embrace. Anakin planted a soft kiss on his wife's temple.

"Padmé?"

"Hm?" She scratched her fingers softly against his side.

"When you think of what you hope for, how would you describe it?"

"My ideal future, you mean?" Padmé's head tilted up, her eyes opening to meet his. Anakin nodded, his right arm tracing out her shoulder blade against her back. "Well, there's no war, of course. So we can use our positions to create good in the galaxy, rather than just fighting off evil. And, in a perfect galaxy, we wouldn't need to hide who we are to each other from our friends." She nuzzled her face into his neck, breaking their eye contact. "Maybe after this war is over, we can have that."

Anakin hummed contentedly. A galaxy like that was a beautiful one to imagine. He gripped his wife tighter, pulling her in flush against his body.

"What about you?" Padmé broke the brief silence.

"I'm not sure," he confessed quietly. "But as long as my future is with you, it's perfect for me." That earned him a loving smile, and another passionate kiss.

It crossed Anakin's mind, as the couple drifted off to sleep, that perhaps Padmé's love was all he wanted for his ideal future.


End file.
